Protesting The Pedophilic Pageants

Child beauty pageants are coming to Australia, bringing controversy along with the hair extensions and false eyelashes.

An episode of the reality TV program Toddlers and Tiaras will be filmed in Melbourne, however feminists and child psychiatrists are calling for legislative measures to have it banned.

While there has been smaller-scale pageant activity in the country, beauty contests are not common in Australia.

Collective Shout, an organization against the sexualization and objectification of women and girls in popular culture has launched a campaign and online petition against the pageant.

The petition states:

• Television shows like Toddlers and Tiaras reveal the child exploitation endemic in these pageants. Child advocates around the world have spoken out about the sexualised clothing, suggestive dance moves, hours of grooming and preening required. They have expressed concern about the way pageants provide external validation to girls that their physical appearance is what is most important in being female. They have criticised the way child beauty pageants re-inforce stereotypical norms about female beauty.

It also cites a study by Anna Wonderlich which reported a significant relationship between child beauty pageant involvement and increased body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships and feelings of ineffectiveness.

Australian child psychologist Dr Ruth Schmidt Neven argues beauty pageants should be illegal as they transform children into “paedophiliac fantasies,” however some parents believe the competitions are “confidence builders” that can be likened to sport.

Other organizations, including Kids Free 2B Kids, the Australian Childhood Foundation and Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg have expressed concern, calling for a ban on children under 14 from participating.

The irksome aspect of “child” beauty pageants is that they are not in fact “child” beauty pageants, but girl beauty pageants. The false teeth, the hair extensions, the fake tan, the bikinis, the high heels, the thrusting dance moves, the coy smiles and the subjective doe-eyed gazes are intended to be adopted by girls and not boys. And it’s not OK.

Pull the Pin (on beauty pageants for children) has organized a rally in Melbourne to draw public attention to the issue and call on  politicians to ban “child” beauty pageants. The group says it is not in the business of “mother blaming” or creating a “mother vs mother” attitude, but instead believes the buck falls with the beauty industry.

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