I'm sure that every one has seen this show Toddlers and Tiaras at some point while flipping through the channels, but if you haven't here is a little summary. "Toddlers & Tiaras is an American reality television series that debuted on TLC in 2009. The show follows the controversial world of child beauty pageants, looking closely at the pageant contestants and their families as the children prepare for their pageant shows. The show airs without any narration in order to avoid passing judgment (Wikipedia). Now this may not seem that bad, but I personally think this show is just really sad. This show is a perfect example of how mothers are influencing their daughters so much and so intensely that they are all like little mini barbie dolls running around and have nothing unique about them. These mothers are living their dreams through their daughters and pushing them so hard to achieve it for them, and we can't forget a main focus of the very large cash prizes and trophies awarded to the winners of the pageants. However, the sad part about this is that these little girls are being made into stubborn, rude, selfish, and spoiled children, not to mention that they are being deprived of their childhood, constantly traveling from pageant to pageant every weekend, while during the week they are constantly under huge pressure being forced to practice new routines and searching for new costumes. These little girls are trapped in their mothers imagination which is constantly suffocating theirs. I understand that these are strong opinions, and many people may disagree with me saying that these little girls like doing the pageants and have fun, and while this may be true in some cases, its definitely not all. In one episode that I found online, a mother was forcing her five year old daughter to get her eyebrows waxed. First of all a big issue here is that she is five years old. Second of all, she is so terrified of it because the last time her mother made her do this, the little girls' skin was ripped off during the procedure. This is just not okay. Five year olds should be outside running around playing games, using their imaginations, and enjoying life, not being forced to get their eyebrows waxed...five year olds should not be stressed out about anything other than the monster under their bed at night.
These mothers are forcing their daughters to grow up way to fast. With all of the make-up, fake eyelashes, fake teeth, fake tans, hair extensions, expensive dresses, shoes, and God only knows what else, to make them "Beautiful" just like a princess in order to win a silly contest, these little girls in the end, are in reality just being set up for failure, because only one girl can win. But honestly, what really is beauty anyways?
