Quote:
Originally posted by Hootie
ANYWAYS, then in college I took this Women's Studies class and saw a video (Smile Pretty) on these children and teens in pageants and how ridiculous it got...especially in the South.
There were women who were pumping money into costumes and lessons who weren't even sure if their daughters would have any money for college. And these pageants weren't like the ones I hleped out at. Most were just modeling stuff. And then I saw this HBO special about the pageants too. There was this girl who was 11 and looked like she was 14 or 15 who was a strong title winner. Her father and his "friend" taught others routines and stuff. It was crazy that they would teach little teeny tiny girls these routines that were just too adult-like. Or these mothers would put hair extensions on their babies heads so they looked like they had some hair. VERY SAD!
|
I learned routines and had all the costumes and yes my mother did spend a lot of money on me. But I also won a lot of money back and lots of prizes. Most pageants give away a lot more then just a crown and banner. It is just like a sport. Parents and the child want to do well in the sport, so they need all the equipment that is involved to do well. They need a uniform, shoes, ball, net, lessons and etc. The same is with a pageant you need the shoes, the outfits, make-up and etc. For me when I was younger pageants was my sport. I did a lot of dance to but I competed more in pageants. Through my 14 years of experience I have see some unhappy children but most of them love it! Now some parents can be too into it also, esp. in the southern pageants. But you will find a lot of pageats have a lot of rules about wat outfits you can wear and how much make-up to have on depending the age, hair extensions, etc.