We are new to this controversy, its been rather interesting on many facets to understand the ruckus that children's beauty pageants have garnered overseas, in particular Australia.
We were the recent sponsors of Universal Royalty Beauty pageant in Plano, Texas this year. We had the opportunity to actually attend for the first time this interesting phenomena. It was a mixture of different feelings like; thrilling, competitive, anxious, hard work, and obviously disappointing for the non winners, and highly satisfying for the winners.
As Mrs Friedman summarized in her blog , these same feelings and effects are present in children's sports. I played sports in school and I encountered hard work, dedication, anxiousness, and obviously disappointment when we did not win. Yet, I encountered great satisfaction when we did win.
These ingredients, if redirected correctly, i.e., hard work, dedication, and team spirit, are all essential ingredients that make for well rounded and industrious adult.
Was the child pageant show, exploitative as the press in Australia has over emphasized? No, I did not see that or possibly failed to notice it. I saw a lot of hard work from both the parents and the children. Was the child pageant show over sexual? No, that is ridiculous. Though I saw a parent who could have used more class with a Dolly Parton (skit). Again, the child is not to blame for any lack of class, it always points back at the parents who are lacking in their parental skills. Ultimately, this is not a ethical question either.
If Australian parents are concerned because these child beauty pageants demean little girls, I have a hard time believing that hypothesis. Psychologically, I don't know the ratios between girls who grow up attending child beauty pageants versus girls who did not attend child beauty pageants and what the lasting effect positive or negative it has.
As a parent I can say that children who grow up in a stable home with stable parents, usually grow up with self confidence and respect themselves more, than in homes where a parent is gone or their is abuse. These abnormalities in "parenting or lack of", I have witnessed in many instances first hand.
That this type of venue encourages "pedophiles" is absurd. Pedophiles are encouraged by their own demented behavior. Where do we draw the line? Do we stop buying bathing suits for our children? Are public swimming pools pedophilia magnet centers? Who knows what the answers to these questions are? And/or are these the right questions to ask? For example, in Japan there is an overwhelming attraction to girls wearing school uniforms as being sexy, you can even say that it is stereotypically exploited in the media. Again, the question is where do we draw the line? Pedophiles are attracted by innocence, that's where the danger lies. It doesn't matter what the girls or boy wears that attracts a pedophile. Ultimately, its the child's innocence that stirs a demented mind to react.
We have been constantly reading posts from girls who cannot, for what ever reason, participate in child beauty pageants and mostly they are sad. They wish that they could be a part of the nostalgia, romanticism, and fun of a beauty pageant. I can safely say, that child beauty pageants are not for everyone, and my statement is not based on beauty as a requirement alone. From what I saw, it takes much more than physical beauty to win, it also takes a lot of heart.
2 comments:
Thank you for your comments. It is always difficult to know the "right" way to raise a child (and I don't believe there is only one "right" way). Some parents believe this is the right choice, and only time will tell. What every child needs is love and support. Best of luck with your endeavors and thank you for reading and linking to my blog!
You are welcome. We have seven children and are currently raising them. We are Jewish and do religious things with them. while raising them in the most stable environment we can afford. Its difficult in many ways because our business necessitates us being on the job 24-7. However, in all this we still have a peaceful family and others tell us this constantly.
I don't condem pageant families because I have seen some amazing results with some of the girls in terms of poise, confidence and good manners. We are not a pageant family we are just to busy for any sports, for that matter. We observe the Sabbath so Saturdays are not an option and that puts a damper on all competitive activities just about.
I believe there are dysfunctional people in any endeavor, pageants is not the only one.
Thanks for hollerin back at me.
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