According to the new times reporter, “The first modern pageant was staged by P. T. Barnum in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down by public protest.” Beauty pageants have evolved into modern competitions amongst girls who compete for the best title, crown, or prize. Competing for these titles can put a strain on any girl’s mental health and stability. There is a lot of attributes that go into a beauty pageant, yet the care for mental health does not seem to be an important one. In these competitions, girls often think that there is a “perfect” body and that is what they have to be to win. This is causing them to have a false image in their heads of what bodies are. Pageant girls need to be reminded that they are enough. Some people may argue that pageants boost confidence. This may be true in some cases, but for the majority of the time, girls are being rejected for physical appearance, talents, and more. By being rejected this many times, girls can lose confidence. Beauty pageants are not only harmful, but dangerous to girls because of the effects it has on mental health and the idea of a “perfect” body image.

The damage of a young girl’s mental health is something to consider before entering a child into an overly competitive pageant. Pageant children develop a competitive way of living due to the ongoing competition against other children. Being a pageant child requires young girls to compete in different categories with the ambition to win, therefore, creating a mental health strain by always wanting to compete and win. Being competitive in everyday tasks is not always a good attribute because peers will perceive the now grown pageant child as overly competitive and ambitious. Moreover, children that partake in pageants develop the fear of judgment from others because they are constantly being judged during the competitions. Low self-esteem has been proven to be prevalent in pageant girls that have lost in various categories, but the main category to cause the issue is the one involving physical appearance. After losing a pageant, girls become self-conscious because they were told that they were not good enough. Beauty pageants should be outlawed because of the strain it is causing to the mental health of young girls.

Many pageant girls have the idea that there is a certain body, certain hair color, or certain height that they need to have, causing them to have a false interpretation that they are not enough the way they are. Many pageant children are told to diet before a competition so that they can be the “best” shape possible. Dieting at such a young age can cause the children to grow up with food disorders and lack of nutrients. Girls do not always associate dieting with being healthy, but rather associate dieting with being skinny. Additionally, many pageant girls have a wrong interpretation of what a “winning body” should look like and this causes the girls to search for something that is not real. Many pageant girls think that they have to look “perfect,” therefore, they put themselves down for every fault about the body. By thinking that one has to be “perfect,” the pageant girls are searching for false body images that are not possible to achieve without altering their appearance. Competing in pageants will cause girls to believe that the body they are born into is not good enough and that they have to alter something to look “perfect.”

Some may argue that beauty pageants are good for girls because it allows girls to boost confidence levels. Beauty pageants may allow girls to boost confidence levels by showing people what talents they have to offer. The girls are showing everyone that they are unique by the talents they have and what they can do. Beauty pageants, however, do not boost the confidence of girls but bring confidence down. The judges are constantly telling young girls their talents are not good enough or that they are not pretty enough to enter or win. This can cause many girls to have less confidence and think more about the qualities that make them face rejection. Some may think that beauty pageants boost confidence, but all they do is destroy the confidence of young girls who constantly are told that they are not good enough.

Mental health and body images are two things that are destroyed for girls due to the rejection and judgment that comes with a beauty pageant. Mental health is something that should be a contributing factor in deciding on whether or not someone is going to enter a pageant. The constant rejection can cause girls to think bad of themselves and be constantly self-conscious. Pageant girls think that in order to win, they have to look a certain way and eat a certain way. These beliefs can lead to issues such as eating disorders and a false understanding of what a healthy body should look like. Confidence is not something that is boosted in pageants, as some might assume, but confidence is actually lost. Girls are constantly facing rejection and harsh judgment that can, over time, cause the amount of confidence to decrease tremendously. According to the new times reporter, “The first modern pageant was staged by P. T. Barnum in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down by public protest.” One may hope to have beauty pageants outlawed once more after the damage they have caused to young girls.

Works Cited

Reporter, Times. “The Origin of Beauty Pageants.” The New Times | Rwanda, 2 Feb. 2012.

“Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers.