Little People

Sexy babies?Are pageant kids

contestants or victims?

October 2013

Toddlers and Tiaras: Sexy Babies?

by Kourtnee Wallace

Cringe worthy, inappropriate, exploitive and just plain wrong are several words to describe the extremely controversial show “Toddlers & Tiaras.” Produced by Authentic Entertainment and broadcasted by The Learning Channel (TLC), Toddlers and Tiaras, although gruesomely entertaining, shows how young children, mainly girls, are being sexualized in today’s society.

The show centers around three girls per show who have entered a local beauty pageant with the help of their parents. The young girls featured in the show are rarely over the age of 11 with some as young as four weeks old. Although the pageants are geared towards young girls, boys may participate as well. There are three main types of pageants: natural, semi-glitz, and full glitz. The extensiveness of preparation depends on what pageant the child is entering. One could go on about the requirements for each pageant but, as an overview, natural pageants are the least glamorous. Heavy makeup, fake eyelashes, tans, and anything else that alters the child’s physical appearance is prohibited and the use of this may result in disqualification.

Natural pageants are also not advocates for expensive dresses or racy clothing. Most of the contestants use clothing straight from their closet or spend no more than 100 dollars in preparation. As you may expect, these are the least talked about pageants even though they’re more of an accurate representation of the socially acceptable child. However, modesty is considered boring resulting in only a few episodes dedicated to these pageants.

Semi-glitz may seem like only a step ahead of natural pageants but that’s not always the case. One may find it difficult to distinguish a semi-glitz from a glitz pageant and some may even believe they’re one in the same. Nonetheless, even if the differences seem slight, there are characteristics of full glitz that aren’t present in semi-glitz. The Sapphire Sweetheart Pageant allows semi-glitz contestants to wear makeup but the makeup must be in neutral colors if under the age of 6 and if over 6, the makeup must be “age appropriate,” whatever that means.

Contestants are also allowed hairpieces but they must look as natural as possible and are not allowed full wigs or excessive extensions. Fake teeth, tans, acrylic nails, and bright makeup are also prohibited. The child may wear sequined dresses but they too have to be “age appropriate.” Swimsuit competitions are sometimes introduced during semi-glitz pageants. The swimsuits are usually one-piece suits that are no more revealing than a child’s one-piece swimsuit at the beach or local pool…but with rhinestones.

It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact episode that is completely out of line because majority of them are. However, full glitz pageants are where the real “action” happens. In order to qualify for even the lowest titles in these pageants, these young girls must gorge themselves in makeup, spray on tans, acrylic nails, eyebrow waxing, and even shaving.

On top of these body “adjustments”, the parents, more specifically the mothers, buy tight fitting dresses, costumes, and swimsuits that are worth car and mortgage payments. Then, as if the torture wasn’t immense enough, these young children are constantly told that they are deemed as pretty only once they put on their Dolly Parton costumes, wigs, and makeup.

Rarely do you see a mother commending their child on their natural beauty in glitz pageants. If they do make a positive comment about a feature that shouldn’t be modified on a six year old, like their eyebrows, it’s usually followed by a passive aggressive comment afterward. Like how waxing their six year olds “nice and thick” eyebrows will make them “better.”

Editors Note

As a future intended child psychiatrist, I write about the well being of children as much as I can. I am a huge advocate for the preservation of childhood innocence and feel this review of Toddlers and Tiaras helps to highlight some of the issues society has concerning children. Initially, I tried not to make such an opinionated review (even though it came off that way) because I wanted the reader to be able to draw conclusions for themselves. However, after much research, it was hard not to be opinionated about this show and many reviewers from my research seemed to agree. During my first revision, I included factual information about the set-up of the show that I did not include before to give further insight of the contestants and the processes they must go through to qualify for the pageants. During my second revision, I defined what it means to be deemed “sexy” in today’s society and drew connections though the show and this modern definition. Toddlers and Tiara’s not only gives insight to the bizarre world of child pageantry, but it also gives insight to the gender roles of the world, an idea I hope to portray in this review.

--Kourtnee

Even with this background, the show sounds distasteful to say the least but it’s actually a lot worse. Melissa Henson, a CNN journalist describes it as “children…robbed of their innocence” which is exactly what it is. As cliché as it may sound, the show is like a moderate car accident. You look in order to determine if there are any survivors and once you assure yourself that no one is seriously injured, you still look. Why? Because one of the survivors of this “car accident” of a show is a five year old that’s dressed like the prostitute from Pretty Women and looks older than your 27-year-old sister. Why the apparent fascination though? Clearly, the show isn’t right but, honestly, it isn’t completely wrong. Sure, the kids are being subjected to potentially dangerous habits that can continue throughout their teenage and adult years but, as of 2013, this utter fascination has allowed this show to be renewed for six seasons. These children are not only impersonations of today’s women, but they’re almost like a circus act or modern day “freak show.” When you go to a circus, a part of you feels guilty for being enthralled at the abnormalities of others but an even bigger part of you is okay with this because of this innate attraction humans have to monstrosities. This is why we find it okay when grown women decide to modify their appearance in irrational ways because that’s what we expect as a society. The masculine overtones that humanity has as a whole thrives on fake nails, hair, and enhanced body parts. It dwells on unnatural amounts of makeup and provocative movements. This may explain why girls in these pageants have such a harder preparation process than boys who can throw on a suit and tie and go. They’re already living up to the stereotypes of a society they don’t have an understanding of; yet, most of them still have baby teeth.

A study at the University at Buffalo showed that women have become more sexualized over time whereas men have roughly stayed the same. As the study concluded, being portrayed as sexy is not necessarily a bad thing. The main issue with today’s sexualization of women is that it isn’t about being sexy for the sake of it. It’s about being a “passive object” for someone else’s pleasure, which is why the show is so intriguingly repulsive because these kids have not a clue what they’re portraying and their parents are okay with this. In fact, most of these children don’t even have a choice against it. It’s borderline child abuse. The fact that natural pageants, which aren’t bad at all, have little to no praise shows the priorities of society in general. There’s nothing wrong with putting your child in a pageant that’s praising them for being true to whom they are but who cares about modesty? That’s so 1970s. This is the 2010s and that means that you have to be as lewd as possible, even if you’re living out you’re 2010s fantasy self through your child. The child who should be coloring pictures instead of her eyebrows.

I am an advocate of female self-improvement but there are limits. Especially when it comes to the exploitation of children. It’s an unfortunate stereotype that women have to be perceived as being sexy in order to be considered desirable. Media is an excellent portrayer of this stereotype and this is unfortunately proven through the fake smiles and high heels of “Toddlers and Tiaras.”