Thoughts on Toddlers and Tiaras

Hi Fellas,

It's mid-week (in case you were wondering). I think I'm gonna aim for one solid blog per week-ish that I share on Facebook, Twitter, Smoke Signals, etc. I'll post some short random blogs in the mean time. Just to write. Because it's fun. That way you can kill 5 or 6 birds ("bird" = blog entry) with one stone per weekend, with at least one well thought out article. And I still get to write random stuff that doesn't suit itself to a full blog. Win win.

Sidebar: MY DOG IS DRIVING ME UP THE WALL. I will eventually do a "why my dog is cuter than your dog" blog, but right now, I would kill for puppy Ritalin.

I have some thoughts on Toddlers and Tiaras.

Who doesn't have some thoughts on Toddlers and Tiaras? This show is nuts. It's unhealthy. The parents on the show argue that pageants raise their kid's confidence. They probably do. But I think the collateral damage is worse.

What really gets me is their emphasis on facial beauty. It's a buzz word.

"It was a tie, so we broke it on facial beauty." "Facial beauty is worth 75% of their score." "My child has the best facial beauty."

OF COURSE your kid is the most beautiful. Beauty is subjective, and you're her mom. Duh. And how do you even judge facial beauty? Especially on kids! There are some beautiful people in this world who have nontraditional quirky faces. That's what makes them adorable! (see what I did there? I dodged the bullet of quoting a One Direction song. Well done self, well done). But seriously. How can you tell a three year old that she is more beautiful than another three year old? More importantly, how can you tell which three year old is more beautiful?! Beauty is genetic until you start taking meth or tanning too much.

Not only is beauty undefinable, but the emphasis parents put on it is crazy. Crazy Mom Quote of the Afternoon: "Facial beauty is the most important thing in a pageant, and really in life too. Beautiful people are the most successful." Full stop. I don't even feel the need to elaborate here.

What kind of effect would that have on a poor kid's self esteem? Puberty is rough enough when it's just your classmates judging you. They're putting their kids in front of a panel of adults. Unbelievable.

Some of the parents do it right. I don't see any harm in dressing your kid up and letting them strut around on stage. Even if it's a little too sexual. The kids are 10. It's going right over their heads. If you don't believe me, re-watch the spice girls movie. See, you turned out alright.

But still. How can we teach young girls that beauty counts for anything?! Everyone is beautiful (I tried so hard to avoid said cliché. Just lost that battle). It's not objective. And it shouldn't effect anything in life. In a perfect world.

I think this is what TLC intended when they put this show on the air. Even as I write this, I'm pretty confident most of you will agree with this blog. I hope this can be a catalyst away from crazy, old fashioned views of beauty. But in the mean time, I will definitely continue to watch, in horror.

True life.

Hope your weeks (collectively) are going well. Mine is pretty solid. Gonna walk my crazy dog now :)

Catch ya on the flip side (of what? I never really understood this)

Kaitlyn