A long row of girls saunter out on stage, wearing little more than tube tops and booty shorts. Their faces are caked with makeup, their bodies are unnaturally orange from self-tanner, and their mouths are plastered with pearly white smiles. Who are these divas? None other than preschoolers competing in professional beauty pageants.
This horrifying image is taken directly from a popular TV show aired on TLC, The Learning Channel. Toddlers and Tiaras is definitely an educational experience, as it shows little girls and their mothers preparing to compete in beauty pageants, according to BuddyTV’s website. Another reality series of similar caliber is Lifetime’s Dance Moms, which gives insight to an extremely competitive dance studio for both the girls and their mothers (buddytv.com).
Although some of the pageant/dance daughters do enjoy these activities, at least while they’re toddlers, many do not. “My mom wants me to be famous. I don’t want to be a model,” said Eight-year-old Vivianne of Lifetime’s Dance Moms, according to Reality Ranker’s website. What does her mother continue to do, though? She sends her to countless hours of dance practice and competitions that just so happen to add to the constant pressure of a TV camera (realityranker.com).
Junior Pascale Aruta said, “The moms are living through their children because their lives aren’t fulfilling enough. If the kid wants to do activities and has fun, the parents should support them, but not if they’re psychotic.” The mothers on Dance Moms, however, scream back and forth in front of their under-10-year-old children, arguing over whose daughter is the best. “How many times has my daughter beat your daughter this year?” Dance Mom’s Christi yelled across the room in the show (realityranker.com).
“When I found out I was having a daughter, I was like, ‘pageant baby’!” said Pageant Mom Cindi from TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. From the moment their children are born, crazed mothers set out to make their babies into stars, no matter what the cost. According to a website detailing the financial costs of pageants, purchasing flippers (fake teeth), dresses, fake nails, spray tanning, and professional hair and makeup adds up quickly. Including all the props needed, plus the entry fees, “…six pageants a year can average $10,000,” said Dorothy Poteat, director of Southern Elite Pageants. That’s a lot of money for girls who haven’t even started kindergarten (creditcards.com).
“The dance and pageant moms are bad parents. They’re more aggressive and competitive than the kids,” said Junior Nico Jacobo. In Toddlers and Tiaras, the pageant girls practice “pageant walking” before a competition countless times. Their mothers critique their style and send them back to re-do the strut over and over. Not exactly the most orthodox way to treat preschoolers.
Most of the kids do not understand what they are competing in, or why they’re doing it. “I love dancing, but I don’t wanna go on Broadway. I just wanna stay home and eat chips!” said seven-year-old Mackenzie from Dance Moms (realityranker.com). Unfortunately for Mackenzie, eating chips is probably not in her mother’s detailed plan for her dancing career.
Seeing as many girls don’t understand or enjoy the beauty pageant/intense dancing experience, it is astounding that moms pay thousands of dollars and put in countless hours to teach their children routines to try to win. Who cares about a college fund when you could spend the money on fake teeth molds and glittery dresses for five-year-olds?