Child Beauty Pageants: Exploitation or Empowerment?
Child Beauty Pageants: A Case of Child Abuse?
With the rapid advance of social media, false stereotypes of beauty have become even more prominent. Children are prematurely exposed to information they are not prepared to manage. Especially for girls, the situation is concerning due to attempts to define womanhood at a young age. Many beauty pageants promote girls as models, causing controversy and sparking debate. Beauty contests are often inappropriate for young girls’ normal development due to the potential harm they generate.
These events can reduce the role of women in society, relegating them to a secondary status and treating them as market objects. Opponents of child beauty pageants argue that these events promote child abuse because of the time girls must invest to meet beauty standards. Sometimes, girls are prevented from living a normal life, and these pageants promote ideals of beauty that are often permeated by racism and designed to satisfy a consumer market. Young girls also undergo excessive beauty treatments like tanning, waxing, and other cosmetic procedures, which are not healthy at a young age.
The erotization of women from an early age can cause various problems, from insecurity and low self-esteem to cases of pedophilia, where parents bear direct responsibility. Many cases are related to the exhibition of girls as objects of consumption and have been reported in several countries. The United States is a major promoter of these events, turning them into a 5.2 billion dollar industry. These events promote beauty ideals that do not correspond to the girls’ age, making them behave like adults. In Colombia, the “Miss Tanguita” event in 2015 featured 8-year-old girls posing in swimsuits, putting them at risk.
This lifestyle, as some parents call it, can be classified as child abuse due to the time spent preparing girls to generate economic revenue for their parents. Additionally, the isolation girls experience from their peers prevents them from leading a normal life. This does not align with the parameters established by experts in psychology, who seek to ensure proper development. Multiple cases of child abuse have been reported. One notable case is Eden Wood, who retired at 6 years old after winning over 300 beauty contests. Her parents claim she is ready to become a Hollywood brand. The UN, through UNICEF, has stated that over 1.1 million children and adolescents have been victims of sexual violence, often linked to these types of events.
Some people argue that these events strengthen girls’ self-esteem and personality. They also assert that participation is solely the parents’ responsibility, not society’s or government agencies’. However, studies show that this type of stress negatively affects children. The pursuit of an ideal of beauty can cause low self-esteem and depression when expectations are not met. The rights of minors always prevail, including protection against sexual exploitation and other forms of exploitation.
Children’s rights must be protected by all citizens, preventing any form of exploitation, commodification, and erotization. Society must maintain a healthy environment for their development, allowing them to grow adequately in all human dimensions. Beauty contests should exclude girls, as they put their physical, mental, and emotional integrity at risk. These contests subject them to child exploitation, generating insecurities that can affect them later in life. This scenario also creates ideals and stereotypes that they may not be able to fulfill. Minors are induced to prioritize physical beauty over their intellectual and emotional qualities, undervaluing the role of women in society.
References
- BBC (2015). Miss Tanguita: el concurso con el que Colombia tardó más de 20 años en indignarse. Available at www.bbc.com
- El Confidencial (2011). La reina de la belleza infantil se jubila a los seis años para escribir sus memorias. Available at www.elconfidencial.com
- El Universal (2018). Concursos de belleza infantiles en América, entre la moda y la prohibición. Available at www.eluniversal.com.co
- The Guardian (2010). Living Dolls: inside the world of child beauty pageants. Available at www.theguardian.com
- Unicef (2018). Children have rights. Available at www.unicef.org