Does it make anyone else mad to see these 6 yr old girls in beauty pageants wearing swimsuits - Page 4

[SAHDS]

I can't even stomach to watch any of the clips, shows or vids, they make me absolutely nauseous. I clicked on that pic a few posts up and wanted to puke. They're children. Let them be children.

How sad.

[Aleo]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride

Wow - the girl in that first clip actually has a missing tooth. I don't think the parents let that happen, anymore.

Honestly, Aleo...if you enjoyed pageants, I'm glad. I just find the whole idea of pageants kind of stomach-turning, even for adults. For kids...just so gross to me.

yea, but i mean it bugs me that people think we turn out to be hookers as teenagers. when i was in highschool they asked me if i knew what make up was

if you ask me this is just as gross

[2xy]

Beauty pageants of any sort are icky to me, whether they involve children, women, or dogs.

For one thing....they perpetuate the idea that beauty is to be valued above all things. One poster said that pageants are about talent and such. I don't believe that a very unattractive person would win a pageant, no matter how talented. Pageants are about people who have cute kids and also have the money to spend on dance, singing lessons, travel, and expensive gear. Looks and money; the American way.

As for teen pregnancies....they have just started to rise again in this country, after over a decade of decline. I don't think the media and competitiveness have anything to do with teen pregnancies. Honestly, I think that our bodies were meant to reproduce as teenagers, biologically. Having babies in your thirties is a modern thing.

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by Aleo

yea, but i mean it bugs me that people think we turn out to be hookers as teenagers. when i was in highschool they asked me if i knew what make up was

if you ask me this is just as gross

EW. I agree.

[meowee]

I think they are sick... but I have a DD (my 7 y.o.) who would LOVE something like this, the shaking booty bit and all. And she would probably win :.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by Aleo

if you ask me this is just as gross

That makes me want to cry. Those girls are really talented and well trained...but they still have got wear skimpy costumes and do a "sexy" routine. Messed up and sick.

I hope they continue with dance, and don't always end up in such sexualized routines. I saw a few of them at ds1's elementary school talent show, too - made me cringe.

[riverside knitter]

Originally Posted by Aleo

yea, but i mean it bugs me that people think we turn out to be hookers as teenagers. when i was in highschool they asked me if i knew what make up was

if you ask me this is just as gross

This is exactly what I was referring to in a previous post about my past life as a dance teacher. These dance competitions are filled with little girls in inappropriately revealing costumes performing suggestive routines. It never would have occurred to me to put pelvic thrusts and exaggerated "sexy" faces in choreography for 8 year old girls. For one thing it's just wrong, and for another, I hope that the parents of my students would have objected. I miss being involved in dance, but I do not miss this particular aspect of the dance world.

[NYCVeg]

I've seen Living Dolls before, but I just watched the first few minutes of Little Beauties, and now I feel physically ill.

Almost worse than what was going on on screen was the fact that the Vh1 LABELED one of the little girls "The Flirt." How old are these girls, 6?

[samikashi]

DH and I don't even like seeing spaghetti straps on little girls... So this sort of stuff really makes me ill.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

Originally Posted by NYCVeg

I've seen Living Dolls before, but I just watched the first few minutes of Little Beauties, and now I feel physically ill.

Almost worse than what was going on on screen was the fact that the Vh1 LABELED one of the little girls "The Flirt." How old are these girls, 6?

I KNOW! I was absolutely freakin IRATE when I saw that. How horrible, degrading, and disgusting.

My sister did competitive dance for awhile and the stage moms were horrible to their little girls. My dad HATED the costumes too.

Here is what it boils down to for me: These pageants and dance competitions and whatever sexalize LITTLE GIRLS. I do not care one BIT if the children "love doing it" or whatever. They are performing for adult judges in front of adult audiences and being judged on their sex appeal. The fake eyelashes, fake teeth, fake tans, and fake everything make these little girls think that they cannot be beautiful or "sexy" (I SO HATE HEARING 7-year-olds worry about how "sexy" they are!) without all this help. It also turns these precious little children into SEX OBJECTS FOR ADULTS. That is WRONG, IMO.

It is okay and normal for a 7 year old to explore their own sexuality. It is not okay for them to be looked at in a sexual way by an adult.

Side note: These events (pageants, dance competitions, etc) always happen in hotels. What's to stop pedophiles from following these things around and just getting a hotel room or hanging out in common areas? The girls run around with little supervision a lot of the time in tiny bikinis all made up to look like tiny pole dancers...

JM2C (nak, sry 4 typos )

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by tinyactsofcharity

I
Here is what it boils down to for me: These pageants and dance competitions and whatever sexalize LITTLE GIRLS. I do not care one BIT if the children "love doing it" or whatever. They are performing for adult judges in front of adult audiences and being judged on their sex appeal. The fake eyelashes, fake teeth, fake tans, and fake everything make these little girls think that they cannot be beautiful or "sexy" (I SO HATE HEARING 7-year-olds worry about how "sexy" they are!) without all this help. It also turns these precious little children into SEX OBJECTS FOR ADULTS. That is WRONG, IMO.

I agree. And what makes it particularly galling is that, if a little girl loves dance and performance, there are so many avenues open to them that don't involve sexualized performance and competition. There are a gazillion classes in ballet, modern dance, tap, etc. that aren't part of the competition 'circuit'. There are acting programs that include dance, singing, mime, etc. There are theater camps. I did all of these things as a child, because I enjoyed performing, and I never wore skimpy outfits, adult makeup, and certainly nothing like fake teeth, eyelashes, or tans (which, even then, as a budding feminist, I would have objected to. ).