Children’s beauty contests have always been controversial, from baby contests in the twentieth century, to pageants still existing nowadays across countries such as the USA and Australia. With the many negative effects they have on many children, they should be discontinued. Firstly, toxic beauty standards are sustained by practices such as children’s beauty pageants, and this causes both long and short term damage to pageant children. In many societies, there is a deep-rooted idea that certain aspects of one’s appearance are ‘desirable’, while others, such as acne and other imperfections are considered ‘ugly’, and ideas such these ideas are maintained by children’s beauty pageants, as children are put in heavy makeup unsuitable for young children, fake tan, plucking eyebrows, bleaching teeth and even dieting, which not only bolsters these dangerous ideas, but also leads to problems such as eating disorders in later life. According to a study conducted in 2005 by researcher, Anna L. Wonderlich, ‘body perception, depression, or self-esteem issues, [were higher in] participants who had partaken in childhood beauty pageants expressed greater body dissatisfaction’ [1], although this is still very much the case even today. However this is not the only way in which beauty pageants for children are damaging. Children in pageants also experience immense pressure from multiple sources, one of them being their parents. Some parents use their children as a means of achieving what they could not in their own youth: ‘watching your child being admired is a definite ego boost for many parents’ [2]. This, as well as general competitiveness, can severely harm pageant children’s mental well-being, in addition to their relationship with parents, as they are constantly judged and compared. On top of this, in children’s beauty pageants, the media, exposure, and pressure to perform well is immense; not only do pageant children face toxicity from other contestants to be the ‘best’, but the stress of being televised can severely impact their mental health, for example in shows such as TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. This televising also boosts media attention on these pageants, which can be very dangerous as it can be widely accessed. From the social construct of beauty standards to intense pressure, children’s beauty pageants can severely damage children’s well-being, both during their years competing, and in later life. If they were to be banned, issues such as eating disorders and beauty standards would definitely decrease, and children who would have previously been coaxed into them by parents would have better mental health and relationships with said parents, and also, better security from the dangers of media attention. [1] Nistha Bade Shrestha in Ethos News, October 10, 2018 (http://ethosnews.com/2018/10/10/eating-disorders-among-child-beauty-queens/) [2] Apt Parenting (https://aptparenting.com/child-beauty-pageants-pros-cons)

This makes a strong argument, one that I agree with. Something that seems particularly problematic about these children pageants is that the majority of them are aimed at girls, this feeds into the outdated narrative that a girl's worth in society is based upon her physical appearance rather than her abilities, talents, intelligence etc. However, there are good aspects of these pageants. Perhaps it provides the child with a sense of community, a fun hobby and a way to make friends. Maybe another alternative solution would be to introduce an age restriction into these pageants. For example, only children aged 8 and above can participate as by that point they are able to consent if this is an activity that they want to be involved in.