Are Beauty Pageants Bad for Children?
Question: I belong to a public service club that has been sponsoring local youth in beauty pageants for several years. I recall that there was some concern in the professional community about beauty pageants and their effect on youths. What is the current feeling about youths and their involvement in beauty pageants? Answer: The long-standing and current overwhelming opinion in the psychology community concerning children’s beauty pageants is that they are not in the best interests of healthy child development. There is enough undue, exaggerated focus on superficial beauty in this culture without children being pitted against each other in a contest of looks. I have heard all the arguments defending these contests and they all appear to be self-serving defenses with no apparent regard to the considerable body of research that demonstrates why they are harmful to kids. I know that people say, “There are other things they’re judged on besides their looks; it teaches them poise, it gives
