Root Causes/Critical Perspectives
The harmful impacts of beauty pageants is a social issue that also relates to feminist and cultural criticism. The social issue that is seen from beauty pageants is portrayed through the media of years ago and present times. Beauty pageants are a social issue due to this reason, In February 2007, the American Psychological Association released a report on the sexualization of girls that found that girls' exposure to hypersexualized media content can negatively impact their cognitive and emotional development; is strongly associated with eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression; leads to fewer girls pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This illustrates the social impact because many young girls are exposed to hypersexualization and the outcome is mental and physical disorders which lead to less girl pursuing scientific careers in their lives. Mothers go to the extreme just to keep their daughters energetic during pageants which can affect their social behavior and create hyperactivity. According to ABC News, Shannon makes Alana's "Go-Go Juice" herself using a combination of part Mountain Dew and part Red Bull, two well-known energy drinks.
One can of each of the two drinks combined contains about the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee. Shannon turned to Go-Go Juice after finding that the two bags of Pixy Stixs, the powdered candy in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw, and is known in the pageant world as "pageant crack," she was feeding Alana were not enough to keep her alert all day during pageant competitions.” Not only is this a social issue but also connects to feminist criticism because of the disorders caused from beauty pageants this means girls will be less likely to start a career in the science field. Another example of a social issue that comes along with beauty pageants is the role the parents play the lives of young girls who are participants of beauty pageants. My issue comes along with cultural criticism towards African-Americans. For instance, “Miss America pageants were controversial for decades for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that they did not allow contestants who were not white to compete, and had other racist overtones. African Americans were first featured in the 1923 pageant”. This not only shows the cultural criticism but also the injustice of racism that African-Americans faced due to not being permitted in Miss America Pageants. Furthermore, Elwood Watson, a professor of history at East Tennessee State University, is one of the few African American cultural historians to focus his research on the Miss America pageant. In the article below he examines the success of eight black women in winning the pageant and gaining the coveted crown of Miss America after decades of outright exclusion from the contest that began in Atlantic City in September, 1921.” The fact that only eight black women have been successful in beauty pageants proves the cultural criticism within the African-American community and the exclusion of a particular race explains the cultural injustice within this race. Nonetheless, beauty pageants have been creating a negative impact in lives of many women ever since the exclusion of African-Americans. The way beauty pageants are negatively portrayed is still continued to this day because of the pressure that young girls continue to experience from not only the media but their own mothers.
The harmful impacts of beauty pageants is a social issue that also relates to feminist and cultural criticism. The social issue that is seen from beauty pageants is portrayed through the media of years ago and present times. Beauty pageants are a social issue due to this reason, In February 2007, the American Psychological Association released a report on the sexualization of girls that found that girls' exposure to hypersexualized media content can negatively impact their cognitive and emotional development; is strongly associated with eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression; leads to fewer girls pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This illustrates the social impact because many young girls are exposed to hypersexualization and the outcome is mental and physical disorders which lead to less girl pursuing scientific careers in their lives. Mothers go to the extreme just to keep their daughters energetic during pageants which can affect their social behavior and create hyperactivity. According to ABC News, Shannon makes Alana's "Go-Go Juice" herself using a combination of part Mountain Dew and part Red Bull, two well-known energy drinks.
One can of each of the two drinks combined contains about the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee. Shannon turned to Go-Go Juice after finding that the two bags of Pixy Stixs, the powdered candy in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw, and is known in the pageant world as "pageant crack," she was feeding Alana were not enough to keep her alert all day during pageant competitions.” Not only is this a social issue but also connects to feminist criticism because of the disorders caused from beauty pageants this means girls will be less likely to start a career in the science field. Another example of a social issue that comes along with beauty pageants is the role the parents play the lives of young girls who are participants of beauty pageants. My issue comes along with cultural criticism towards African-Americans. For instance, “Miss America pageants were controversial for decades for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that they did not allow contestants who were not white to compete, and had other racist overtones. African Americans were first featured in the 1923 pageant”. This not only shows the cultural criticism but also the injustice of racism that African-Americans faced due to not being permitted in Miss America Pageants. Furthermore, Elwood Watson, a professor of history at East Tennessee State University, is one of the few African American cultural historians to focus his research on the Miss America pageant. In the article below he examines the success of eight black women in winning the pageant and gaining the coveted crown of Miss America after decades of outright exclusion from the contest that began in Atlantic City in September, 1921.” The fact that only eight black women have been successful in beauty pageants proves the cultural criticism within the African-American community and the exclusion of a particular race explains the cultural injustice within this race. Nonetheless, beauty pageants have been creating a negative impact in lives of many women ever since the exclusion of African-Americans. The way beauty pageants are negatively portrayed is still continued to this day because of the pressure that young girls continue to experience from not only the media but their own mothers.
