I am SO Disturbed.

I was flipping through channels 15 minutes ago and came across VH1...there is a little girl pageant on it. I have to say, it is one of THE most disturbing things I've ever seen...

The pressure from parents, heavy make-up/hair/emphasis on appearance...it's just sick. And the bathing suit competitions? Even MORE disturbing.

Little girls being made up and made out to be like badly dressed/made up grown women and in two-piece bathing suits?? It's like pedophile paradise...I'm just... *shudder*

Have you seen Little Miss Sunshine? Pretty much sums it up...

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Have you seen Little Miss Sunshine? Pretty much sums it up...

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I haven't--but I should. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

UGH yeah I've seen them. I don't know why parents do that to their kids, it's horrible!

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

I was flipping through channels 15 minutes ago and came across VH1...there is a little girl pageant on it. I have to say, it is one of THE most disturbing things I've ever seen...

The pressure from parents, heavy make-up/hair/emphasis on appearance...it's just sick. And the bathing suit competitions? Even MORE disturbing.

Little girls being made up and made out to be like badly dressed/made up grown women and in two-piece bathing suits?? It's like pedophile paradise...I'm just... *shudder*

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"Living Dolls", the documentary? I saw it on HBO a while back I think....it was horrible.

Edit: Forgot to add the best part...there was a little boy on there, and his mother said, with total sincerity "We just discovered that he has a growth hormone deficiency and we had to choose between getting him the treatment or paying for more pageants, and he told me that he'd rather do pageants". Because of course a six year old has the capacity to make that decision...

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

"Living Dolls", the documentary? I saw it on HBO a while back I think....it was horrible.

Edit: Forgot to add the best part...there was a little boy on there, and his mother said, with total sincerity "We just discovered that he has a growth hormone deficiency and we had to choose between getting him the treatment or paying for more pageants, and he told me that he'd rather do pageants". Because of course a six year old has the capacity to make that decision...

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No...this wasn't a documentary. This was more like a reality show--glorifying it. Which is maybe why I found it even MORE disturbing. And that's sick--about the little boy. I don't get what sort of mindset a parent has to be in to put her child in that situation.

I'm glad I didn't see what you saw, Kim. I mighta thrown something at the TV. I think all beauty pageants are absurd and ridiculous...but at least adults have the capacity to make the decision to parade themselves around like cattle at a county fair if they wish. For parents to subject their children to that....it's just obscene. What a way to completely ingrain vapid, destructive value systems. :mad:

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Originally Posted by JLC

I'm glad I didn't see what you saw, Kim. I mighta thrown something at the TV. I think all beauty pageants are absurd and ridiculous...but at least adults have the capacity to make the decision to parade themselves around like cattle at a county fair if they wish. For parents to subject their children to that....it's just obscene. What a way to completely ingrain vapid, destructive value systems. :mad:

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Yeah...one of the judges was saying that he thought it was a POSITIVE thing to teach these little girls the "reality" of life: as in "The reality is, in the real world, you're judged by your appearance. To tell them [the girls] that isn't the case is ridiculous. It would be like wearing cut-off jeans into the boardroom." --I'm paraphrasing here, as I don't have the direct quote, but that was the jist. It's crazy.

The reality of life is not to look plastic. Alot of the parents are living their dreams using their children. In my opinion SICK... SICK...SICK

i think they're the type of parents that want their kids to be famous at an early age(like some celebrities) so they could live off the money their kids'll make instead the parents working for themselves. thats my opinion.

And they wonder why eating disorders and depression are on the rise?

I saw that last night Kim. The only part I was interested in, was when they went to Daytona, and I was trying to figure out if the "Fabulous Face" pageant was being held in the Hilton! :oops:


It was like rubbernecking a car wreck - I couldn't seem to change the channel for some reason.

Ach don't even get me started on kiddie beauty pagents (or beauty pagents of any sort really). Are we still a society that is that shallow? We adults are still so stupid that as parents some of us can sexualize our little girls this way and teach them that "pretty is best". Absolutely disheartening to see this both as a woman and a mother of two daughters. This stuff goes against every value I've tried to each Kate and Beth about their worth in this world. :mad:

I can't stand those things. When I have children and my child ever wants to be in one of those things, I'm locking him/her in thier room until the thing is over. Ok, so maybe not lock them in thier room, but they are definatly not going. To me, pageants are nothing but a 'you're pretty, you're not." sort of thing. Winners are basically fed that "You are the prettiest, therefore you are worth more." Losers are fed "You are not as pretty as you need to be, so you fail."

To me its a bunch of bullcrap. When I have kids, I will teach them its not whats on the outside that should matter, but the inside. Its so sad that this world thinks its necessary to make women into objects to be put through a competition and paraded around like dogs to win some cash and to be considered the prettiest.

The parents should be shot. They're just living vicariously through their children, attempting to make up for the childhood they never had. There is something inherently very creepy about a children's pagents. I don't have as much of a problem with beauty pagents and high school and such since they offer scholarships... The problem with those however is that only the most skinny, beautiful, popular, etc. are given the opportunity to participate. Shouldn't the scholarships go to young people that are really making a difference in their community and not just the ones who look really great in a bikini? Just my .02.

So many parents these days do that Amy. Whether it's a beauty contest or young Billy scoring the game winning run, or your kid being in the "best" school or getting the "best" grades. Drives me nuts. Sure I want my own four kids to succeed and to go to good schools and participate in fun activities. The key word is fun and it should be all about being a kid while they can be.

It's not about you calling your kid "stupid" if they fail to score that goal or screaming like an insane fool while you sit on your fat hiney in the bleachers. It's not about how much time on the ice your kid got, but rather about learning team play and being a good sport. Your kid's grades are not a personal reflection of you.

It's funny but I often wonder now that society tends to have smaller families if some of the parents are just putting way, way too many of their hopes and dreams on that one or two kids they have. Must be awful to be the focus of that kind of parenting. (that's not to say single children families are bad, but my granny used to have a saying about "a hen with a single chick" and those older women often knew what they were on about)