Should beauty contests be banned?

There are certain persons who believe that beauty contests should be banned as they have an adverse impact on the children in the long run. However, there are many who believe that the beauty contests should not be banned as they provide the girls a chance to prove their worth by taking part in these competitions.

Points in favor of imposing a ban on beauty contests

1. It has been repeatedly pointed out that a ban should be imposed on the participation of children less than 15 years in beauty contests. It has been felt in this regard that when the children are allowed to take part in beauty contests, their parents make them go on a diet so that the children may lose fat and become attractive. However in this process, these children are deprived of essential nutrition that is required at their age. At the same time, when the children are made to take part in these contests at a very tender age, there is a risk that if they lose this contest, they may develop a negative image about themselves. Such a failure can result in low self-esteem and the impact of such a situation can be very harmful. Similarly, by taking part in these contests, the children are made aware of the fact that everything that is being done by them is being judged by others and the stress of such a situation can be too much for these children to handle. At the same time, the children may also start to question their real beauty. Therefore, in such a case, it can be very difficult for the children to decide what merely a competition is and what reality is. A large number of children take part in these patents every year and it has been estimated that most of the parents also hired coaches for the children taking part in these contests. The cost of taking part in a single beauty contest may go up to $5000. For example in some contests, the participants have to wear several outfits due to which, the cost of participation increases even much more.

2. Another issue that has been raised in favor of imposing a ban on beauty contests is that many times, the participants start treating life itself as a beauty contest. These girls start thinking that they have to look perfect and pretty at all times. However, they have to realize that the people are not perfect and at the same time, everyone has certain flaws. On the other hand, the beauty contests are only superficial. The girls taking part in these contests are under pressure to be perfect, beautiful or skinny. In this way, a ban needs to be imposed on beauty contests for the sake of the girls taking part in them.

3. It has also been stated in favor of a ban on the beauty contests that these contests sexualize the children at a very tender age. For example, it is not a very attractive idea for the parents to see a five years old child walking on the ramp with fake eyelashes and heir extensions. Another point that needs to be noted in this regard is that the young children should not be exposed to this kind of materialism.

4. In the beauty contests, the human beings are spending most of their time in measuring up against each other. This should not be allowed. The participants should learn that they need to be their own self at all times. However, in case of beauty contests, the participants are measuring up against each other in order to achieve the prize. Therefore, it is important that the ban is imposed on the beauty contests and people should be told to be their own self.
5. In case of the beauty contests, the focus is on external beauty and winning the title. Therefore, these contests require that the competitors should spend a large amount of money as well as most of their time on artificial beautification of the body. However this is a poor focus, particularly for the girls of impressionable age and at the same time, it also devalues the participants at a tender age. The children particularly, should not be allowed to take part in beauty contest because it has harmful and demoralizing impact on the character and self-confidence of the participants.

6. Beauty contests are also a meaningless form of entertainment. At the same time, these contests take away the innocence and the beauty of the girls at a very young age. They deprive the participants of the right to enjoy being young and to be free and at the same time, they are placed in a situation where they have to dress and look many years older than their real age. Similarly, the participants taking part in beauty contests are also required to value competition, starvation and appearance. Similarly, they also have to rely on peer approval all of which result in decreasing the self-esteem of the participants.

However, there are many persons who believe that the beauty contests should not be banned. According to these persons:-
1. The persons who are against imposing a ban on beauty contests believe that it is okay if some persons do not like beauty contests however, a ban should not be imposed on them as it will make the beauty contests illegal. Therefore the choice should be left with the people themselves. If they want to take part in beauty contests, they should be allowed to do so. If they feel different after taking part in a beauty contest, they will stop taking part in beauty contests in future. But if they like beauty contests, they will keep on taking part in them. Therefore in this way, the choice will be left with the people themselves as it is their life as they should be allowed to make decisions regarding it. On the other hand, if anybody does not like beauty contest, such a person is not forced to watch the beauty contests. In the same way, a ban should not be imposed on the beauty contests due to which, the persons who want to take part in it should not be allowed to do so.

2. Beauty contests are somewhat similar to dance competitions. In both these cases, the girls are strutting around on the stage with heavy makeup. In these competitions also, the girls have to wear the dresses that have been given by the teachers or parents. Therefore why the ban should only be imposed on beauty contests and not on dance competitions?There is not much difference between the two.

3. Beauty contests should not be banned because they provide a chance to the girls taking part to bring out the best in them, although some persons believe that these contests also reveal the selfish side of the participants in some cases. However, the beauty contests have been taking place for a number of years and there are a lot of people who take these contests very seriously. Therefore, there does not seem to be any reason why these contests should be banned.

4. It is also very difficult to impose a complete ban on the beauty contests and to prevent them from taking place because there is nothing related with them that can be considered as illegal. However, as a society, certainly an impact can be made on the holding of beauty contests. For example, if these contests are not watched by the people, they will not be sponsored by the advertisers. Therefore the persons, who do not want the beauty contests to be held, should simply avoid watching them on the television. In this way, if a large number of people start to avoid these contests, eventually these beauty contests will be stopped from being broadcast on the television and perhaps these events will take place no more. However, a reasonable explanation cannot be given in order to support a ban on these contests.

5. The beauty contests provide a platform to a number of young girls to reveal their talents and at the same time, it also provides an incentive to take part at the international stage. In this way, these beauty contests not only make the participants proud but also their country. In this way, when the participants from a particular country win an international pageant, the country also receives publicity in the world that the woman of the country are smart, confident and beautiful and are capable of showcasing the whole country on their own at the international stage.

6. A ban should not be imposed on beauty contests because they are fun and there are a lot of girls whose dream of becoming a princess has been turned into reality by these contests. It is not very easy to win a beauty contest therefore they should be allowed to try to achieve their dream and this chance should not be taken away from them. There are a lot of people who are not successful in turning their dreams into reality however the ones, who can do so, should be allowed to try and this opportunity should not be taken away from them by imposing a ban on beauty contests.

7. The children and their parents have the choice to take part in the child beauty pageants and contests. However if a banis imposed on these contests, the children will not have a choice. Most of the children who take part in the beauty contest also enjoy them and they consider it as a hobby. Similarly, by taking part in these contests, the children also learn significant lessons, for example to be proud of their appearance and these children also learn how to accept defeat gracefully.