My stance on child beauty pageants has pretty much always been willful denial. Sure, I knew that somewhere out there the tradition was being kept alive, but because they were out of sight I could keep them and my personal objections to the practice out of mind. That is, until recently. When not one, not two, but three pageant-centric series cropped up on TV. Now I'm beginning to fear that not only will the discomforting phenomenon of underage beauty contests become harder and harder to ignore, but because viewers have started to tune in, this may only be the beginning.

My biggest problem with shows like "Little Miss Perfect," "Toddlers and Tiaras," and "Little Beauties," though is not the pageants themselves (that's a different debate for a different time), but rather the spectacle they become when put on networks like WE, TLC and especially VH1. Unlike other competitive shows like "American Idol" or "Top Chef," the TV audiences, for the most part, aren't a reflection of the crowds who would actually attend these pageants in person. They're not watching to root for any of the girls to win or lose, but rather to gawk at the culture of spray tans and fake teeth (referred to as "flippers," they cover up the gaps of missing baby teeth) that they'd otherwise not be privy to seeing. Viewers are curious to see just how delusional the pageant moms are, how precocious the little girls will be — the entertainment value of these shows is rooted in this discomfort of knowing how "wrong" they are.

This cringe-inducing dynamic has pretty much become the standard for VH1's recently rebranded "celebreality" programming ("Flavor of Love," "Charm School," "I Love Money," etc.) where contests act as a flimsy platform to showcase contestants who will voluntarily degrade themselves for the home audience's viewing pleasure. But what about those who aren't in on the joke?

The girls who participate in these pageants in earnest are far too young to posses the type of self-awareness that typically comes being a reality show celebrity. And what about the possible younger viewers who come across these programs and view them as an unrealistic measure of beauty? With statistics showing half of girls ages 8 to 10 as being unhappy with their size, 40 percent of fourth graders admitting to previously being on a diet, and more than half of girls ages 9 to 15 having exercised to lose weight, we don't need more "reality" programming stressing these unrealistic ideals.

While older teens and adults may understand how inappropriate and exaggerated these girls look and act, a younger teen or a tween might not. Similarly, the difference between watching to mock, and watching to admire may be lost on them as well.  When it comes to reality television, we've learned it's a slippery ethical slope, and the only way to stop a show that spells trouble is to take a stand and stop watching.

For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tweens Channel, sponsored by the Tween Tribune.

Categorized under: Tweens

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. If you are a Facebook user, comment using your Facebook account.