Guest Blogger

While we await the arrival of our new SweetMama editor, us non-moms are tackling notions of family and parenting from our own unique view. Today, Emma tries to figure out the thinking behind beauty pageants.

The sweatheart of the pageant world. Miss Eden Wood. She just retired — she's five.

I'm pretty sure my boyfriend's opinion of me dropped down a notch or two when he came home to find me transfixed to the TV screen, mouth open, eyes wide, taking in every disturbing detail of TLC's documentary series about the American child beauty-pageant world, Toddlers & Tiaras.

There is just so much to criticize that it's hard to know where to start. There's the obvious ones, of course: the objectification of little girls, the extreme — and painful — aesthetic procedures, oh, and the swimsuit competitions.

But there's also the mounds of sugar (literally) that go into their little bodies to keep them permanently wired (until they crash and have a full-blown melt down). There's the money that gets poured into custom-made costumes and travel costs, rather than on other healthier extracurricular activities (one girl had to quit gymnastics, which she loved, because her mom said her arms were "getting too muscular"). So, yeah, the moms, oh, the moms...

I have no doubt these women love their children. When on camera, they speak lovingly of them, of their special talents, of their love of pageants, of their hard work paying off when they win those sparkly crowns (and cash prizes). These kids are 2, 4 and 5 years old. They aren't dancing around in Vegas showgirl outfits to win diamante head wear — they're doing to please their mothers.

So I have to ask, what makes a mom want to put her child into a beauty pageant?

 

Image: TLC

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