Baby Beauty Queens
As the American phenomenon of the children's beauty pageant hits the UK, this documentary uncovers a surreal new world where nine-year-olds get fake tans and seven-year-olds wear contact lenses.
With the grand final of the first ever Mini Miss UK beauty contest taking place at a leisure center in Milton Keynes, it soon becomes clear that tantrums and tiaras may prevail over perfect poses and pouts. The mastermind behind the pageant is a middle-aged ex-beauty queen, who plans the entire event from her stairwell in Colchester.
The film follows three girls and their mothers in the lead up to the big event, and as they prepare to dazzle the judges the real reasons why they are all desperate to be crowned Mini Miss UK become apparent.
From the evangelical Christians who are convinced that God will help them win the pageant to the disadvantaged kid for whom the contest holds the key to a better life, the film portrays an eccentric, and at times disturbing, snapshot of modern Britain.
Both these mums stress how important looks are to 'success', yet both could easily have got where they are if they were plain.
Fantasy for parents tis what it is!
Amber reminds me of Veruca Salt. She's a temper tantrum throwing spoiled brat and her mom just laughs it off. Way to go mom.
S*upid people buying into S*upid s*it.
wow these parents are SO superficial, disgusting. They don't deserve the gift of children. The mothers are all like "well i am not forcing her " ... like really.. your morals regarding your child are best on what they "want", not what you believe or what is right for them? And the sexualization of these girls! Disgusting!!! My goodness . It is NOT the same as playing sports for people saying that, it is teaching them that physical appearance is what matters in life, not ability
It is all disgusting. The parents attitudes, the children being taught to act a certain way (mainly a brat) and the people organizing the stupid show. If this is the way the human race is going...I despair! The only positive I could get out of it was for Sasha the wee shy one, who got the confidence boost that she really needed and yet she still remains a sweet girl. Other than that....I felt sick.
Sick mothers
lol! the yummy mommy section gets elevator music!
I think its a bad influence. C'mon Sophie Watson has now 7 piercings,2 tattoos and shes dropped out of school. Even worse she sleeps with boys and drinks! Im only 13 but i know better than that!
Everyone goes on about muslims being obsessed with living by the word of the quran. These born again people are nuts. This is nothing less than child abuse.
Tyler cannot even sing in key. why would her mom tell her to sing when she can't? It's difficult to watch this.
Don't put your daughters in these freak shows, they might grow up to be Lady Gaga.
its become an american pastime lately to judge pre-teen pageants and stage moms. yes they are doing the wrong thing but consider that they are getting the publicity they want out of this. also consider that we, the judging audience, needs more pageants to judge - feeding the whole ugly phenomenon. I say resist the urge to judge others and judge yourself.
this is all very screwed up. just shows how screwed up parents should never have children.
Sorry...they need to teach their children some good sportsmanship. Madison is a spoiled little brat! Perhaps the judges saw that too! I think Sophie looked beautiful and natural and should have won!
If they make these shows and play them on TV....people will watch them.
I'm not, entirely sure, who these "people" are. But networks keep on making shows like this, and based upon today's reality, there has to be a "market share" worthy of exploitation.
Just like: "I didn't vote for the last Government." But they got in.
Lady on part 4...you really are not "suitable" to JUDGE anyone. You are ugly and fat so you don't have the right to tell the judges not to pick someone because they have crossed eyes! Your solution to her problem was to get corrective surgery to fix it. Well...there are things that can help you too! Ever hear of gastric bypass surgery? I don't mean to be cruel, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. No one is perfect and what may be beautiful to one person may not necessarily be beautiful to another. Oh wow...and judges in part five, none of you have the right to be judging these beautiful little girls either!! Man in the striped shirt- You are hideous looking! Gahhh...couldn't they pick better "qualified" people to judge? If I was the Mom to one of these girls and saw who was judging my little girl...we would demand our money back and leave. I would then take her to the store, let her pick out her own beautiful tiara and be done with whole entire insane fiasco!
you tell someone they are not suitable to judge and then in the next sentence judge them for how they look...hypocritical much? You are doing exactly what the judges are doing to those girls...judging people by how they look. I hate these shows, and I hate people that contradict themselves.
Plastic surgery at SEVEN! Whatever for? Nothing like sending a clear message to your poor child that they are not beautiful enough just the way they were born! It makes me sick to my stomach.
LOL...being "beautiful" is not a talent! And ALL parents think their children are beautiful! And what is up with all the blue eye make up? Must be a UK thing because it's hideous and outdated. Reminds me of the 1980's!
"being "beautiful" is not a talent"
In today's quick fix, standardization of "Western norm". Unfortunately, "beautiful" was trademarked by the corporate media.
And, yes it does mean "talent" in that idiom.
Sad, perhaps, also sadly true.
I believe atleast 40% of these little girls will become drug addicts or turn their lives for the worse.
No kid should experience the stress these kids live through
No kid should try and cope with defeat all the time.
can you imagine when they get home. most of these psycho parents are pissed at their little girls for not winning, or take out their frustrations on the little girls or dont know what to do with their feelings and transmit those feelings to their little kids.
these girls will never feel good enough about themselves and will grow up to ruin their lives.
personally I think this should be illegal, it would save so many little lives.
I know that its sounds pathetic, another id**t on the internet commenting out of his a** not know what he is saying.
If you think about it, if at least 10 percent of what I said before is true, than that would be grounds enough cancel these pageants.
this is total SH**...children should do what they love..not joining some stupid beauty pageant contest...and their parents is such an as**hole...the whole baby beauty pageant thing is a so stupid...
I've just been watching a documentary about cruelty to children where the film makers rolled the cameras and at no time intervened to say "stop this now and get the police in ---- this is child abuse we are witnessing". (still got to thank the makers for bringing this to public attention however) . If it were child porn these sickos might be up for some heavy prosection. Does it take a lone genius then to see that, uh.. it's just a matter of degree (and this is pretty way up the scale) ..? I don't know who is more sick, the perpetrators, or me for sitting here and not going out, finding them and drowning them in hair gel. What the f%$k is going on and how did this get to happen while we all sit by? We know serial killer and child abuse pathology is almost exclusively male but these people, the mothers mainly, apart from the organisers and the tranny-from-space training them to walk-like-a-sexual-neurosis, are damaging people with their psychotic stupidity but in a very large, all under the oh so convenient wrap of some miscreant idea of kitsch 'femininity' and for some inconceivable reason no authority appears to have seen fit to criminalise their behaviour. These people are cancer. Cauterise it.
well said...couldn't agree more...these baby beauty pageants make me want to vomit....and what are they saying about children born with imperfections and disabilities...are they not beautiful also?....This whole phenomenom is vile!
Agreed!
I just saw an episode of mini uk something.... oh my God, how disgusting! How can a mother let her own child go through this??? Do you mothers know how many young adults suffer and struggle for sometimes 15 years with eating disorders, problems of self-esteem, drug addictions... and it's not only because mum and dad were violent, it's because of this rubbish as well.... you poison the brains of your own children... how sad this is. Someone has to get it banned.... you mums should be seeing a team of mental health professionals....
Just like with kids' sports, pageants can either be a fun, healthy experience or a traumatic, demoralizing one depending on how the parents handle it. The girls and moms in the Mini Miss Photogenic contest were all surprisingly sane and well-adjusted about the whole thing. The girls were clearly doing it for their own well-articulated reasons; one even went so far as to raise the money herself by approaching neighbors and local businesses to sponsor her. All the moms in that one were supportive rather than pushy and rightly concerned about the effect it might have on their daughters' self-esteem if they didn't win. It also helped that in this particular pageant none of the girls looked overly made-up or sexualized. In the context of pageants that emphasize natural beauty and age-appropriate fashions, I see nothing wrong with encouraging girls that really want to do it as long as they don't get too disheartened when they lose. Making a blanket statement like "it's child abuse" is just a reflection of the sensationalized portrayal of child beauty pageants in American reality shows, where narcissistic, overbearing moms robbing their daughters of their childhood and wrecking their self-esteem are seen as the norm.
This is a particularly well-balanced documentary series on the subject, showing both the good and the bad. Madison's story was the one I found most heart-wrenching, with her mom Moya very obviously forcing her into it for her own selfish reasons. Most telling was when the pastor at their church asked Madison why she was entering the pageant and she replied, "I don't really know." That and the look of sadness she wore throughout most of the show should have been enough to break her mother's heart, but Moya either doesn't notice or doesn't care. It made me very sad for that poor little girl when, even though she was clearly devastated by losing, Moya was determined to push her on to "conquer the U.S. pageant circuit."
Pageants themselves aren't the problem here - bad parenting is.
But don't pageants themselves sexualize children? I totally see what you are saying and agree about the parenting, but i kind of think pageants themselves as harmful
these moms are just nuts! horrible and discusting. poor girls. crazy world. :(
i wonder if they realized that god was not on their side.
all these girls are beautiful and not as crazy as american moms r.
But why is that girl dress and dancing like that (4:35-4:44) but shes happy so good.
"Miss Eden Wood" looks like a little piggy... and acts like one too! Sophie Watson is absolutely stunning, i hope people see that she doesn't need any make up whatsoever.
I don't think Amber's mom (Sammy?) takes this to a healthy place. She's the stereotype. Eden's mom actually seemed a lot more rational than a lot of pageant moms.
When I was 7 I was playing in the backyard and wearing the same clothes for days. It kind of makes me sad to see girls so young being sexualized(sp?) and taught that they're only worth what they look.
I've never seen so much tackiness! Eeck! And the organizers of the pageant- these women judge beauty etc.??? They are sooooo cheap looking and TACKY!
how*
child abuse, what world do you live in? who cares, they are 9 years old. parents are supposed to push their kids towards dreams and goals. look home much fun those little girls had. even though they lost, it was a good lesson and a good experience. yall need to shut your mouth about child abuse because you have no idea what your talking about.
"Who cares"? If pageants truly are a form of child abuse, then all of us should care VERY much.
Studies have shown that these pageants may ingrain in little girls the belief that beauty is the only key to success in life. Some of them probably do grow up thinking they can be loved and valued by their mothers only if they're attractive. You simply cannot guarantee that losing is "a good experience" for every girl.
Perhaps the dangers of child pageants depend on how much emphasis and importance the mothers and daughters invest in the competition. The mothers of Tyla and Madison practically made the pageant their daughters' whole world -- no wonder those two girls felt so discouraged. Sasha's mom seemed to make the contest more about a confidence booster and a possible way to make money during rough times. Even though she didn't win, Sasha was grinning from ear to ear, saying she had a lot of fun. Also notice that Sasha wasn't tanned or wearing globs of makeup like some of the other girls.
I would agree with you that pageants aren't child abuse if and only if the involvement is kept at a sane and healthy level. Unfortunately, however, many pageant parents get MUCH too involved for their daughters' own good.
Girls should be able to go on stage without makeup, fake tans, or hair extensions and feel beautiful just as they are.
Ok I am back to share my disgust once again with this child abuse! A breeding ground for pediphiles> disgusting
child abuse! These mothers should have their children taken away and then be sterilize! These children are a disgusting! If my wife wanted to do this to my daughter I would report her to cps
This is pure Child abuse!
Tyler's mother needs some help... she has an almost obsessive fixation on physical beauty. I'd like to analyze all of these beauty paegant parents.
¨Isn't this really just a sophisticated form of child abuse? ¨
George Carlin
I agree that the exploitation of children and in this case that of little girls in pagents is dispicable. I remmeber watching a show on Sally Jessie Raphael back in the 80's about this. I am wondering what ever happened to these young girls? After all we suspect that girls modeling will live to be doomed as adults. Any one know what has happened to them as adults?
"After all we suspect that girls modeling will live to be doomed as adults."
Sorry, but this statement is utterly ridiculous. Of course, your basis for it is what you've heard in the tabloid media, who aren't in the business of reporting on happy endings. What about those women that go on to be successful fashion designers or actors? Or those that give up modeling in favor of careers they find more meaningful? What makes you so sure that a woman who models as a child is incapable of making good choices later on in life? Try using your critical thinking skills instead of just regurgitating what you read in the Enquirer.
Wow. So many people really just really attack this. I hate child pageants but when I was watching this I got a sense of both sides of the good and the bad.
In the case of Madison's and that other girl's family it shown how deadly it can be. From how they act down to how they talk about their daughters. The language they are using was a very external view of their beauty: eg: how good their skin was, how they need to be looking "perfect" and the constant talk about clothes, hair and make up. Winning was everything. The talk about winning was shocking. "my daughter will win" or "you have to win" turned into a motto. In the end both girls came out worst out. Both expected to win and both lost out. We all saw the result: Mums faking their smiles, clear disappointment projected on their daughters, head not in reality and daughters being super drama queens.
But in Sasha's case it was the total opposite. She was genuinely into it and it is possible that she knows her mum's suffering (I want to help my parents any way possible kind of attitude). Her mum's attitude was very different to the other mums and her language was genuinely caring about her daughter eg: self confidence, experiencing new things and she made it clear that if Sasha can't do it for any reason she can walk away and still be loved by her proud mum (leaving the stage was never mentioned by the other 2 mothers). She seems like she wasn't a well educated person so she may have made a connection with her daughter's fond of dress up and try to channel it to something that she can feel confident and enjoy. The look after the pageant was glowing and pride. Both mother and child came out the best and genuinely proud of her personal achievements. I also made a note that she only mention about winning once. It was very clear that winning was never in their intention.
In a shallow glance it was very "WHAT?! WHO WILL DO THAT TO THEIR DAUGHTER" moment but if you look deeply and listen to their language it shows that there can be good people with a good heart and grounded attitudes in these pageants.
All in all I wish them all well.
I don't care how you rationalize it, This is SICK
I think you've said it perfectly. I was also a sceptic on this issue, but seeing the interaction between Sascha and her mom absolutely showed me that there is a different side to this. A side we often don't get to see. I loved Sasha story.
Based on what I know of women and mothers in the United States and Canada, I am very sad to say that I find the mothers behavior in this movie and the UK completely normal.
I was divorced from my wife and we had three kids aged 2 1/2, 6 and 8 years old . My former spouse wanted COMPLETE control of her children and was very upset because I spent too much time with the kids doing social activities after school. I enjoyed engaging the kids in athletic activities like swimming and rollerblading, art activities like drawing, and going to the movies. We were the best of friends and did just about everything together.
Ironically the family court of Santa Clara County of California agreed. (Also run by women.) A father is not to be best friends with his kids. I have this written down. A restraining order was put in place and I was forbidden to see my children again without proper counseling. I passed on the counseling. If a father cannot be best friends with his own kids why bother. A sad but true story of family courts in the United States and around the world.
The mothers in this video are EXTREMELY controlling and 100 times worse than my former spouse. I suspect that most of them are divorced or if they do have husbands they stay at work as long as possible to stay out of their wives way. I simply could not imagine living with any of the women in this video do to their obsessive compulsive controlling nature. And this would reflect itself in many other aspects of their lives.
Watching the mothers and their psychological disorders towards the treatment of their daughters was really quite entertaining. I really feel sorry for my three kids now, knowing that it could be like this for them everyday.
What's that saying, “Mother knows best!” Walt Disney's new movie Tangled (Dec 2010).
When it comes to mothers and their children, mother's can be very possessive to the point of obsessive. Such was my case with my former spouse. Nature seems to program mothers like this so that they are over protective and caring.
In the case of these mothers notice these things.
1) My daughter is the most beautiful. Other little girls are not as beautiful as she is.
2) I will give my daughter every advantage to win the beauty contest.
3) My daughter must win, because I will make her the most beautiful.
4) Winning is everything for security and happiness.
5) Being the most beautiful is the most important for security and happiness.
The mothers here are even more obsessive to the point of psychotic behavior.
Guys welcome to the world of women. Joke!
Arnold Vinette
Ottawa, Canada
why are there so many darkies that are reactionaries and that suck up to catholicism/capitalism/distracting the masses?
Pat Poone is a dumb frivilous bitch
Creepy, disturbing, disgusting, I can't think of enough adjectives to describe how incredibly wrong it is to sexualize a child!! These children will grow up thinking their value as a human being is completely dependent upon their looks. Don't we get enough of that as women? I also couldn't help but notice the glaring absence of any father figures in these poor little girls lives. I can't imagine that any decent father would permit this. You'd think that one of them would have a father that would say, "Hell no, you're not parading my little girl around like a piece of meat!"
separatred mom JAnis is SICK as all othermoms here... separated, no work, "dedicated mom" SAVE ME GOD of dedicated moms! Gets money from ex-hubby, and mess up the kid. She wants to once again make UP for her own childhood it seems to me... oh yeeeess..... 6 years girl.... all the sudden, just out of nothing wants to be a "model"....
Once again: LEFT (separated) moms CAN go crazy in their midlife crisis.... terrible. State should take care and basically society should RETHINK the "idealistic, romantic idea" of carring mom and connection mom-child. I wonder if dad is happy to see his little Lolita?? His littel daughter made up as as "lady" ??? He would be vefry proud how she walks in hi-heels I guess??? sick. all just sick.
Slightly cooky.
Overall the idea of pageants is gross for kids. Dressing up like pretty princess with bright pink lipstick ugh. Doing booty dancing, that's shocking under 20 to me but I'm a prude when it comes to kids.
I did think of all the parents the poor mom seemed to have the best intentions. She was trying to use it as confidence building. So was her daughter who was pleased just to actually get the will up to perform. The mother commented on the over application of makeup also so her head is still working, she hasn't droided out yet. That one girl can't sing though, only parents praise so much for mild mediocrity or maybe tone deaf runs in the family :P
I sorta think they try to relive thru their kids in these pageants too. Almost guaranteed these women loved barbie dolls.
@ K
thats a very good idea, I think. Being British myself, I notice that we always tend to follow America - and this is an example of the negativity of some aspects of democracy
I so admire USA's ability to change anything that needs reforem - the 'power of the people' is REALLY impressive in the United States - so why doesnt someone take up the challenge - and do what 'K' suggests? - Id willingly particiape but I cant afford to travel across the pond.
Loved your blogs - evrybody feels the same from what I read!
thats got to be an incentive for a radical change in the exploitation of vulnerable, innocet young minds
This is so wrong. Make it illegal, and charge everybody involved. Child abuse.
I'm kind of puzzled by Madison's mother, in the opening she's talking about how good her skin is and how it's like pale rose buds or whatever....then she goes nuts on her daughter with spray on tan and make up to the point she looks like a drag queen.
Poor little Madison thinks that her choices are being a model or sitting around in the house! It's like feminism never happened. What dreadful ideas to pass on to your child! Madison needs to know that she can be a solicitor or a doctor or do any number of jobs that will be useful. The whole film made me angry.
Hmm. Twice said? Twice true.
A sad, disturbing documentary.
This is a very sad documentary; disturbing to say the least.
I just don't understand why a parent would put their child through this. Giving them a "Belief Board" of beliefs that should not be for a 9 yr old, but for a young woman. I am sure some believe that a 9 yr old girl is a young woman, but I don't think so. The girls are treated like living dolls and not allowed to be an actual child. Being judged on talent, looks and drive can only damaged a 9 yr old. It is hard enough being an adult and being judged, but for a child it can be real harmful to their psyche. I am a parent of 3 daughters and I think they are being the best they can be by actually being themselves and having their own ideas. The 19 yr old goes to Columbia University in New York, the 18 yr old wants to be a Chef and go to school in Dallas, TX. My 15 yr old is just now coming into her own. I wish these people would stop playing parents and actually be a parent. These are just my thoughts and I know I can only raise and be responsible for the children I bring into this world. I hope I have given them the foundation to be a good person and a contributor of society.
This is horrible...Children are not toys. Those parents are depriving their children of a childhood(a few exceptions) Not only that, they are building psychological obstacles that may never be conquered. ...Not enough winners in this game. Is it really worth it?
Bless little Sasha's heart. I think it's interesting that she's the one who went on to do something. It's because she was genuine. I find these things have two sides. For the girls who are told that their looks are everything, it damages them. For a girl like Sasha I think it can help. She felt better afterwards because she had somebody applaud for her. The mother was also a bit more grounded and realized that too much make up and crap is crazy. I think the problem with this, or with anything really, piano, dance, baseball, football, ect. ect. that the parents often want it and they force it. It should be something that the child should want to do. If I had a daughter and she said that she wanted to be in a pageant, I don't know what I would do. If it was something they really wanted, I think you can find away to make it positive. Tell her she's only going to do natural beauty pageants because she's already beautiful. Use it to practice her talent. Emphasize the talent part. Enter them in ones that have an emphasize in some sort of questioning aspect so that you can focus on their thinking skills. I just think that people tend to focus on the negative, and this is something that's easy to take a pot shot at. I think brains is way more important but I do want to emphasize that all children should feel beautiful. Not in away where I think they need to be made up like dolls, but I think in some ways in our modern culture (I'm American, but I feel this probably applies to Europe as well) that we are starting to strip away the sexes of children because we don't want to label them and put them in boxes and say that a girl needs to be this way or that way. I agree, but if a girl is a girl that loves jewelry and being made up and feeling pretty I think we need to respect that that is who she is as well. That that's ok to want to be somebody who feels beautiful just the same as the little girl who wants to play sports.
This is horrid- what a bunch of terrible people.
The minds of Euro and US citizens is truly disturbing. These countries suffer from Bipolar disorder. On the one hand these nations are trying to protect children from exploitation (factory work, sex slave trade, war, from pedophiles... etc), yet on the other hand these nations are hyper-sexualizing childhood (ex: there are thongs for little girls... disgusting and disturbing if the parents actually buy that garbage). Remember marketers invented the term Tween (between child and teenager) to make products for little girls between ages 6 through 12, so they can be consumers for life (have to have that garbage strawberry flavor lip balm). Now 6 yrs old is no longer a child but a tween and it's getting disturbingly younger... that's truly psychotic. Boys do have this but in the sense of over-masculine them. However, boys are given a whole range of role models to look up to... not just one pre-package persona to go by, unlike girls who are told by society they're only value are their looks (which is why the first girl said she always wanted to be a model... has she not explore other fields to make that concrete conclusion). Is it no wonder than females of these cultures go under the knife more often than any other woman in the world. Women are doing things to themselves in these so-called advanced cultures that some people are trying to stop in Africa. The only winner at the end are the rich, over-privileged, white men in the corporations who sell us this ideal of fake beauty. BTW, before we men point the blame on the women for not ignoring this idealism... just remember each time we men buy a porno magazine or a car magazine or drooling over the fake tits on Spike TV we're supporting that fake idealism of beauty and projecting to our women that they're nothing unless they look in a certain way. We're also to blame for feeding and encouraging these corporations to make our females feel like they're not worth it. This goes beyond just the dilemma of young beauty pageants, but the dilemma of our cultures targeting the most vulnerable... children.
With that last statement in mind, I want to know... where are the fathers (or male role models) of these little girls? To me I find it rather strange that these girls are growing up without seeing any male role models (positive male role models) to have an example what a man is, so they wouldn't make any regretful mistake of going out with a jerk. Of course this is assuming if they grow up preferring males.
Thanks to the poster for posting this video.
when they said that the little girl had plastic surgery when she was 7 my heart just dropped... how can they treat their daughters like dolls
This is more of a commentary on parenting than anything else,although the fact that we feel the need to seek affirmation in the form of pageants surely speaks volumes about our fragile character(s).
At the end,the comment made by Madison's sister is absolutely heartbreaking. She's her sister,probably the only middle-ground the child has,and she is aware that "She'll think she's ugly!". She'll remember that moment forever,I guarantee you. Very sad,indeed.
And Sacha's mother had the right idea,by making it all about 'growth',not winning,although I wish she'd make the child more confident in her education. Something tells me she's underestimating the girl's intelligence.
Meet the new generation of emotionally disturbed women, psychiatric patients and anorexia babes.Yep...in Jesus name they should pray their daughter don't end up messed up individuals.
Children done up to look like 10 $ whores...BRAVO !!! Makes me wanna throw up.
OMG...this tripe is sick beyond reason. These women need to be flogged.
Reading other comments, I think I'll be repeating a lot of what they have voiced... that it's exploitive, harmful and could be considered (mental) abuse for these young girls.
Having 'babies' (ie: 6-11 year olds) compete in a pageant like this could end up devastating their childhood imaginative dreams --- the play world that little girls and boys NEED to help develop their personalities, sense of adventure and confidence. Kids find out what the real world is like all too soon and face harsh realties as they grow older. It's the cocoon of their childhood that helps make them a better person and putting them in something like this could destroy that playful, hopefulness.
Take a look at Madison... it was obvious she didn't really want to be in the pageant --- was half-hearted about it until the big day (even told her pastor she had no idea why she was entered into it). At the event however, her admitting that if she didn't win would mean she wasn't pretty was very disheartening to hear --- and that is exactly what she thought when she lost... She's what.. 9 - 10...? Should a child of this age even THINK of that kind of thing in the first place?! I think her mum had good intentions behind this... but put forth her daughter into something that she, herself always wanted and didn't think of what Madison felt.
The only positive thing I saw out of this was that Sasha...the poor shy girl ended up feeling a little more confident about herself. I think her mum was bang-on when she frowned of how much make-up all the other girls were wearing (in fact, the winning girl - who was 13 didn't seem to be wearing much at all). On another level though, what she says around her daughter transcends into what type of person Sasha is turning into (someone who doesn't have much confidence in herself and worries about money). This unfort. is because of her mum being the same way. Having said that though, this experience was probably good for the both of them --- to show that even if you're poor, you still can do whatever you want and succeed at it (personal satisfaction). As the ending stated... because of this pageant, Sasha now has 2 modeling jobs on her pv... :) --- and she'll have a mum who will support her no matter what the outcome may be.
What a freakshow. These 'parents' are just begging to have their kids kidnapped by pedophiles. These born again people were not born right the first time and they weren't born right the second time either. These women are clinically insane and pageant organizer Pam is frighteningly ugly yet she feels qualified to judge the beauty of other women. The poor kids are going to grown up with serious mental issues.
wow... nothing like teaching your daughter to be a vacant whore and that "as long as I'm pretty the world will be fine". Must be much easier than inspiring them to do something like get a degree and be a useful member of society. These parents are disgusting, you know that a 9 year old doesn't wake up one day and say "gee I'd like to be in a beauty pageant and inspire pedophiles worldwide"
This whole thing is absolutely disgusting in so many ways. What bothers me most, though, is the hyper-sexualization of these little girls. It's so... gross and wrong.
Of all the girls profiled, I am most concerned for Madison. She looks dead. Her eyes are as hollow as those of the children I've seen photographed in WWII concentration camps. This child is in danger of becoming a psychological cripple and she needs help. Someone has got to step in and try to protect her. She needs a friend who can help her grow through her authentic self--someone who values the integrity of inner beauty and can help encourage her to develop a healthy self-confidence. Her older sister seems like she might be able to mentor her a little bit, but I think Madison really needs professional help at this point. I hope that there is someone reading this who knows this family and has the courage to reach out in a discreet way that doesn't threaten the mother's sense of authority.
But the mother has got to learn to stop abusing her daughter like this. I wish that blaming her her brought me some sense of satisfaction or reparation but it doesn't. She isn't consciously violating her daughter--she's just projecting her own soul wounds onto her daughter's psyche without realizing it. Emotional wounds are inherited from one generation to the next. But they don't have to be. Madison and her mom both need guidance and healing and it is unfortunate that their church doesn't seem to offer that. In fact, it looks like their church is actually making everything worse. A minister who is spiritually spineless enough to "bless" this kind of abuse and lead the congregation into colluding with the mother's exploitive behavior should not be practicing. His message is patently anti-Christian and this fact is clear even to a non-believer. If a definitive tenant of Christianity holds that Christ sacrificed himself to free humanity to spiritually redeem itself from the material world, how can this congregation pray to Christ for help in winning a meat-market contest and still think they are practicing their faith? They really think that overvaluing appearance is an orthodox practice? These guys need a remedial critical thinking class and Sunday school lessons.
Ugh. This nonsense is spreading beyond the USA?
What's wrong with these women?
These parents are absolutely ridiculous, trying to live a life they never had by using their kids. What kind of mother worries about her child not being cute enough?
Tim, when airheads compare sports with child sexual abuse, and that is exactly what these pagents are all about, that shows the mentality that allows this garbage to continue. Any right thinking person who watches those insane mongrel butt ugly women encouraging those children to imitate grown women in such a sexually blatant manner should know immediately those mothers have a very serious mental problem. I couldn't stand to sit and watch one of those pagents and it breaks the heart of any feeling person to see those children forced to degrade themselves to please a total lunatic. There is a reason these mothers do this and it is all about them and not the child. That is the truly scary part. I bet every child molester from miles around love these shows. Wouldn't you be sickened to know some damn pervert took pictures of your child so they could use them to masturbate by?! That was the confession of one convicted pedophile on a special report I saw a few years ago. He said it was the best place to go to get aroused. Absolutely sickening.
Reb: You're absolutely right. Dressing up little girls like hookers and giving them cosmetic surgery to make them look "prettier" is NOT AT ALL like pressuring boys to be good in sports, unless Karen is talking about stretching them out on the rack to make them better at basketball or something. A more equivalent example would be stripping little boys down to their underwear, oiling them up and parading them around the stage like bodybuilders. And people probably do that somewhere too. I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised.
Karen, what planet did you fall off? It is the sexual exploitation that makes the offensive difference in child 'beauty' pagents. Boys may be pressured by dads to excell but not to be sexually appealing in the process. I watched one backstage demented bitch of a mother who told her 13 year old girl, who she had dressed like a hooker, to shake what god had given her. Putting false teeth covers on those little girls is about as disturbing as it gets, not to mention the Tammy Faye Baker makeup and false eyelashes. They are not having these children judged on the natural beauty of innocence but these moron half-wit mothers are striving to turn them into miniture sex objects. I hope you are not a mother! If you are I sincerely hope the father has more damn sense.
This is no different than little boys being pressured by dads to be good in sports. There is a show for everything. Dogs, cats, cars, kids, etc..people pick something and pursue it to extremes, spending 10x the amount of the winnings to do it and get a cheap reward. Mind boggeling as it is everyone wants to be special and if they arn't they live vicariously through somebody else. Been to a boxing match lately?
It should be illegal to give minors cosmetic surgery unless they're missing half their face or something.
When you see a mother dressing up her child to look like a pint sized hooker, you can bet she is divorced or married to a coward of a man.
I couldn't watch the whole thing. Those mothers need a kick in the ass that is for sure.
There is nothing but insecurity and pain in the eyes of these poor girls and their mothers
Yeah, this is really creepy stuff. I don't know how the parents can justify doing this to little children. It's perverse. There must be a lot of pedophiles running these things. Who else would actually enjoy watching children paraded around like this?
That in a country that considers pedophilia to be a major crime... it has a bit of hypocricy in it doesn't it?
Those children aren't even judged on how good a child they are, they are being judged on how close they can be pulled and painted into adult-looking clowns.
Something nobody mentioned: make-up and paint do deteriorate the health of the skin. So these kids aren't only psychologically mutilated here.
I'd be less shocked if at least the kids seemed to enjoy it, which was not the case.
And oh god they even made them fill their chest with who knows what for that "formal wear" thing. They suddenly all had a bossom.
i am appalled at the idea of this kind of exploitation. This should be illegal. i cannot wrap my brain around the thinking of these parents , pageant organizers, judges. Messing up childrens lives,
and i have to ask Where are the fathers. girls will have a hard enough time living in this world.
ièm glad the truth is shown. maybe something can be done about it. I live in canada i dont know of any child pageants but i must check it out.
Everything is outward appearance, what about the childs spirit. How will these children deal with ages... there is so much resistance to growing old in our culture.
dear dear kids. i was outraged at these mothers ..and the reaction of the sister who choerographed her little sisters dance was too much, where is childrens services and advocates.
the organizers must be looking at the dollars this can make.
the mom who said that there was too much make-up on the other kids called it exploitation yet she can;t see that that is what she is doing, and even if her child gained self confidence because of it there are other ways to do that! her was a kid with pressure to win for money.
the mother with the kid and the other sister just was frightening... what pressure, the child was so visible unhappy yet the mom continued to pursue her child.
wrong wrong wrong on all levels
I think that the mothers of those very young girls are doing something wrong for them ,and instead of "promoting"or "ensuring" their children's future, they might affect the kid personality ...causing them loss of confidence and self esteem .I've notice that Madison and the singing rich girl ,where pushed so hard by their mothers forcing them to act and desire something that they didn't yet discover ...It is hard to understand and feel comfortable during this forced "preparation"..Because it's to early for their ages and they are not ready yet, U can not suddenly rush a child to become over night a teenager?!?!? the girls had no clue about what where doing and why they where doing it ,not To mention the stressed out parents putting so much pressure upon the little shoulders .I have nothing against the idea of a beauty contest for children ...but do they really have to put so much make up on? Why is it so difficult for the parents to understand Something so simple like ...answering the question ..What kind of beauty has a child ...why do they bring us joy ?BECAUSE OF THEIR PURITY!!!!
Anyway I am sad for those tow beautiful girls and i hope that someday they will have their own mind and be able to decide for them personal options despite the bad influence that they receive from parents . And yes i must say it can't help it! "baby-es" with acrylic nails and a lot of make up are FREAKY and the show the best source of entertaining any PEDOFILE
Silly silly silly.
That's what I like about these types of documentaries, they tell a story that are out of the ordinary. Children beauty contests are really out of the ordinary. Of course we have opinion about this but will it matter? Opinions are projected anyway. For these girls, projected opinions about how they are perceived is everything to them simply because they will end up with nothing else.
I wonder who want's do this - the kids or the mothers. All the mothers seem to be living their lives through the successes of their children, either via not having a life of their own or putting the responsbility of having to support their family on their child.
In addition, I'm seriously concerned about the values being imposed on these poor kids. What ever happened to virtues such as intelligence and individualism (because lets face it these poor kids all look the same)? And just being a freakin' kid! The kids' (and their mums'!) self worth is so wrapped up in what they look like that I hope they keep it because without it I don't think they or their mums will have much left. All these mothers are damaged goods and projecting their insecurities onto their little girls thereby creating another generation of damaged goods.
This is so rediculous and it is clearly traumatic for the kids. And what happens to the poor little girls that don't make it - are they now all of a sudden not pretty enough. They really have nothing else other than their looks to fall back on through no fault of their own. It's pathetic and sad...