Beauty Pageants for Six-Year-Olds

My husband and I watched this program last night about beauty pageants for little girls. My husband was horrified. And, really, it was pretty weird, watching these little girls prance around with Texas beauty queen hair and fake teeth. Yes, fake teeth. Little snap-on veneers that cost upwards of $200 that look like grown-up teeth. It's scary. Like that touched-up picture on the internet of the cat with human teeth.

Anyway. Bean came in and said that she wanted to be in a pageant. Absolutely not. No, no, no, no, no. Now, I try to encourage my kid to be into her own thing as she is her own person and doesn't necessarily need to act the way I do and believe in the same things, but I draw a line at pageants. And here's why:

1. Say what you want about it being all in good fun, but there is a definite sexualization of these little girls. I mean, come the hell on. Why in the world does there need to be a swimsuit portion? I think the swimsuit portion of ADULT pageants is eye-roll worthy. What purpose does having these girls prance around in bikinis with their fake tans and Barbie hair and Playmate make-up serve? It's creepy. What's also creepy is that when they're dancing, they make poses that resemble the '40s pin-up girls - tuchus sticking out, hand at their mouth, their mouth in an 'o', eyes wide, as if to say, "Whoopsie!".

2. We adult women bitch all the time about being held to an unrealistic, cookie cutter standard of beauty. But little girls in pageants are being force-fed that same standard. Fake hair, fake teeth, fake tans. All of them are cookie cutters of each other. And the little girls who opt out of the fake teeth and hair teased within an inch of its breaking point, they often walk away with nothing, and that can't feel good. It kind of sends the message, "This is pretty. If you don't look like this, then you lose (in more ways than one)."

3. Women will compete against each other until the end of time. It's often bitchy and cutthroat. Why would I want to introduce my daughter to that at the age of six? On the program I watched, one little girl didn't win anything, and while the girls winning were being crowned or given sashes, she said to her mom, "I look better than them." I really try to instill in Bean that there is so much more to a girl than how she looks, that being the prettiest isn't what it's all about. But pageants do just the opposite, I think.

Here's the thing, too. I think Bean is one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen (biased mom talking). Pretty hair, big brown eyes, adorable. But I wouldn't want to ruin her hair by curling and teasing it. And she has a whole life to cake her face with make-up. She doesn't need that right now.

I guess I don't dislike the idea of kids' pageants. I just wish it could be about cute kids, not making little girls look as grown-up and made-up as possible with the most expensive gowns to see who comes out on top.