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?
It's rough to see that side of our society, and it's even more strenuous when we come to grips with what our society believes true beauty is. Beauty, at least in my opinion, lies in the soul of the individual, because through that we act, speak, and do things that we believe to be O.K. or morally correct. I wonder what type of morals these girls will grow up with and how they view society and the world as a whole...
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you posted about this show because I think every time a commercial for it comes on my mouth drops open. It is so unbelievable to me, not that the little girls are so snotty but that the parents are using their children to be competitive. Girls at a young age like that only know what their parents tell or show them to do, they wouldn't try and rebel because they think whatever their parents teach them is the right thing to do. I completely agree that the mothers are suffocating their children and you wonder how they will grow up and if or when they will start to realize that they are being glamorized!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that this relates to fairy tales and princesses because most princesses are at least over 14 years old. The way the mothers in this show influence their daughters is very similar to the mother/daughter relationship in Cinderella. It makes me wonder if the mothers in this show are jealous that they aren't young again of if maybe they have always wanted to win a pageant? Cinderella's step mother was jealous of her beauty so she made her do all of the chores. It is sad that these children aren't given the choice of who they want to be, like Cinderella. Hopefully the little girls in this show will gain the knowledge and confidence to choose if they want to try and be princesses or not...
Quinn-- you make some great connections here to the show and to the fairy tale competitiveness between mothers and daughter. What I find MOST disturbing about this show is that THERE IS A SHOW. That means that someone thought it would be good to film and distribute this because PEOPLE WATCH THIS AS ENTERTAINMENT. I feel that we as a society have really gotten perverse in our entertainment-- we love watching human train-wrecks because it makes us feel superior. I am not sure who is the most sad-- the people on this show-- or the people who WATCH this show regularly.
ReplyDeletethis show pisses me off beyond belief. Like I just dont understand what the hell their parents are thinking. I truly feel bad for the little girls. All the parents are doing is living vicariously through their children. Every person is not qualified to be a parent and these people are great examples of who SHOULDNT be parents! The parents have absolutely no concept of beauty and are teaching their children that beauty is only materialistic and based on looks. NOT TRUE!
ReplyDeleteI have seen MANY episodes of this show considering TLC is my favorite channel, but it is basically just showing me what kind of mother i DON'T want to be. Someday if i have a daugther,i will want to teach her that her personality and character are more important than her appearance. I just wrote my research paper on "Princess Culture" and how it affects girls development and i included Toddler's & Tiaras in it. This kind of competition SO YOUNG just sets up girls to think that they are judged by their looks, and that is what is the most important. It creates life long struggles with appearance, eating disorders, dieting, plucking, tanning, etc.. Its disgusting that adults will put young girls through this, it is absolutely setting them up for a 100 years war against their own self esteem.
ReplyDeleteWooow! I think this show is soo stupid. I've been flipping through the channels and actually have stopped on this show a couple times. I think it is cruel to do to the children and is just really dumb. As a child you just want to have fun, hang out with friends,and act your self. At this age girls dont have to worry about beauty, makeup products, and basically a job. That shit cant be fun to do! These parents need to check themselves because you have to be crazy to think your child wants that for themselves. Your exactly right when you said that its just what the parents want, its their dream. Rediculous!
ReplyDeleteGood blog