In this modern era, everyone, either male or female, is trying to look good in every aspect, whether it’s physical or in dressing. Many reality competitions are going on in society, and everyone wants to participate. Females mostly try to do things that top models in the fashion industry or any other industry are doing so that they will get that perfect body or looks. Girls that are as young as 12 try to care more about their bodies rather than focusing on other things like education. Taking care of a body is a good thing, but going beyond limitations is not good for young girls. Society has put this picture into our minds of how an average person should look like. But does this average man that we see daily on the streets? No. The reason is just that everyone is unique and different.
Many studies have been done in the past to examine the impact of beauty pageants on young girls. One of the studies explained that beauty pageants played a role in creating awareness of women’s empowerment in Nepal (Heinberg). In the case of women’s empowerment, it is true that, yes, beauty pageants do play a role in showing the world that women are equal to men in this modern world in every aspect. There is nothing that a woman cannot do. Those women who won the competition in Nepal became a role model for other young girls. In countries where male dominates females, this could be one of the things that can let females encourage to do something on their own.
What you cannot score without goals is one of the inspirational quotes from Miss Malaysia 2016. This describes that one should have goals associated with his or her life to get success in the world. In this society, beauty pageants have more negative aspects, but there are some positive aspects as well. Setting your goals and being consistent with them can help you achieve anything. Females often do not set goals for what they want to accomplish in their lives, like in the case of Nepal. Beauty pageants try to motivate other women to go for whatever they want to achieve in the experience.
It has been said that for some women, it gives them the opportunity to become a role model and influential people, and someday, they will pass on their courage to other young people. There’s a study that shows that women who enter into beauty pageants after leaving increase dissatisfaction and mistrust in their bodies (Kelly et al.). So, if they wish to pass on their courage to other young girls, would someone do something to her body after seeing them being dissatisfied with their body? Girls should get confidence when they are older. It has been said that amount of vitamins and supplements cannot give them confidence. However, vitamins and supplements will keep them healthy in their old age, which will ultimately result in trust.
Social media plays an important role in Beauty pageant competitions. They persuade others to strive for the things that are done by the models. So that they look like them and achieve success, but it does not tell the amount of pressure this will create in the minds of the young girls. They leave everything behind and want to achieve the perfection that the models have. It is possible to achieve that perfect body but at what cost. These shows “present femininity as performance, sexuality as performance, identity as performance, and each of those traits is available for a price.” (Orenstein). Because of the advancements in the young technology generation, they do everything that they can to achieve that perfection. On this point, I agree that it does create obsession in the minds of young girls to look exactly like the model they see in the beauty contest or on television rather than focusing on anything else, like education.
There are some points where I do agree, but there are some points where I don’t agree. Agree to the points that beauty pageants create the awareness of women empowerment and the fact that it creates the obsession in the mind of teenagers or in young girls to look exactly like them so that they get praised by the society.
There are other certain points, as well, and it has been said that vitamins and supplements do not necessarily contribute to confidence when females approach old age. Vitamins and supplements are essential to make one fit and healthy. A healthy life has high benefits. When you’re in your old age, you will not feel those pains that one ordinary person does feel, like the pain in your knees and back pain. As you’re healthy, you will be more able to avoid those pains. It has also been said that beauty pageants share their courage and hardships to motivate other girls to step up and face the world. A study has shown that those who entered beauty pageant contests after leaving feel dissatisfied with their bodies and disinterested. So, how will they motivate others if they are not motivated themselves? One of the famous quotes from the Miss Universe Great Britain was related to never giving up.
This explains the argument in support of Beauty Pageants that with continuous hard work, you will achieve whatever you want to accomplish in your life. Nowadays, parents support their children in attaining their goals. Although the USA culture is based on individualism, if they see a spark in their child, they will encourage them to achieve their goal. However, they do not want their child to get deep into so much that he or she starts damaging his or her health. As long as one’s health is a success, one will come.
From all the arguments and counterarguments presented in this argumentive essay. Beauty is not a competition. It’s just in our mindsets. We have made this a contest. When this mindset changes, the perspective of thinking of it as a competition will also change. Achieving a goal is a good thing, but one should not let it all over onto him or herself. There are always two sides to the coin. Look for the negative side of a coin as well. Everyone is unique and different from others. One should not try to look like the other person. Maintaining your body and health is perfectly fine, but taking it too far to look like a celebrity is something that will ruin your life. As mentioned at the start, those who entered beauty pageant competitions started feeling dissatisfied with their bodies once they left this industry. This could be your case as well. So it’s better to look for things that will help you in future instead of focusing on one thing and leaving everything behind.
Works Cited
Kelly, Jessica M., et al. Televised Child Pageants: Negative Psychological Effects, Millions of Viewers. Salisbury University, 2014.
Orenstein, P. (2011). Cinderella ate my daughter. New York: Harper Collins.
Leslie J. Heinberg and J. Kevin Thompson (1995). Body Image and Televised Images of Thinness and Attractiveness: A Controlled Laboratory Investigation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology: Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 325-338.
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