JonBenet Ramsey died in vain...

[Gob]

Getting a spray tan is a bit like getting a pap smear – you reeeally don't want to, but you tell yourself it will all be over soon enough and the chances of running into the person performing the procedure at your local supermarket are highly unlikely.

I also tend to take what I call the ‘ostrich approach’ – if I close my eyes, I can pretend I’m somewhere else, like a pitch-black room being eaten alive by spiders, or something else that would be much nicer than having a cold, smelly, brown mist sprayed over my naked, freezing body.

At 35, I have succumbed to enough so-called beauty procedures/myths to know waxing, shaving, preening, tinting, hair-dying, teeth-whitening and all the other forms of torture are just an extension of the superficial bullshit we tolerate, if not perpetuate, in the hopes of being ‘acceptable’.

And yes, I have succumbed to it and endured it and tolerated it because I’m old enough to have heard every marketing ploy and handed over my own cold hard cash and at some point or another in my life I may have even believed the superficial bullshit.

But I am 35 and I learnt the hard way.

What then if we were to introduce our babies to these sanctioned forms of torture the deceitful pass off as the beauty industry and the insecure masquerade as necessary?

Such is the bizarre world of children’s beauty pageants, where our little girls are tanned and waxed and pedicured and manicured and teased and preened and painted until they become younger and younger real-life versions of a Barbie doll.

The end result of which is pure spectacle - little girls who resemble women. Little girls who are compared to other little girls and ranked according to their aesthetic appeal.



Shame on us as a society that our daughters are groomed into submission, objectification and sexualisation at such a tender age, in the name of entertainment. In fact, in the name of ‘building self-esteem’.

Never has there been a more misguided notion.

Obsessed parents, who are deluded by the promise of grandeur and notoriety and who condone the emotional and physical abuse of their little girls, do so under the guise they are encouraging confidence and promoting self-assurance.

Waxing at five and getting Botox at eight ... God help the next generation.

I have two daughters and we all love dressing up. My 10-year-old does a better job with the hair straightener than I do, but I have a limit.

The children have a limit.

No person in their right mind could possible enjoy the rigours of hours of hair and make-up, only to be critiqued and criticised and judged more or less inferior to another.

Parents who join forces with the pageantry circus enabling their daughters to resemble a side-show freak need to take stock of where their obsession might end – another generation of women more familiar with their inadequacies than their abilities.

Six-year-old girls don’t need a blonde wig and fake eyelashes to make them feel confident.

Building self-esteem this is not. It creates self-obsession. If there’s one thing we need less of in our world it’s the look-at-me, love-me, me-me-me philosophy.

Help ‘Pull the Pin’ on beauty pageants.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifemat ... z1KaTr3yd4

[loCAtek]

Parents don't let your girls be tramps

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye.

Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10" (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her "Xtina" phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes.

You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word "Juicy" was written on her backside.

Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see all right. ... I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she's not even in middle school yet.

Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing the "Ashley," a push-up bra for girls who normally are too young to have anything to push up. Originally it was marketed for girls as young as 7, but after public outcry, it raised its intended audience to the wise old age of 12. I wonder how do people initiate a conversation in the office about the undeveloped chest of elementary school girls without someone nearby thinking they're pedophiles?

Push-up bikini controversy Video

What kind of PowerPoint presentation was shown to the Abercrombie executives that persuaded them to green light such a product?

That there was a demand to make little girls hot?
How young is too young to be sexy?

I mean, that is the purpose of a push-up bra, right? To enhance sex appeal by lifting up, pushing together and basically showcasing the wearer's breasts. Now, thanks to AF Kids, girls don't have to wait until high school to feel self-conscious about their, uhm, girls. They can start almost as soon as they're potty trained. Maybe this fall the retailer should consider keeping a plastic surgeon on site for free consultations.

We've been here with Abercrombie before -- if you recall, about 10 years ago they sold thongs for 10-year-olds -- but they're hardly alone in pitching inappropriate clothing to young girls. Four years ago the popular "Bratz" franchise introduced padded bras called "bralettes" for girls as young as six. That was also around the time the good folks at Wal-Mart rolled out a pair of pink panties in its junior department with the phrase "Who Needs Credit Cards" printed on the front.

I guess I've been out-of-the-loop and didn't realize there's been an ongoing stampede of 10-year-old girls driving to the mall with their tiny fists full of cash demanding sexier apparel.

What's that you say? Ten-year-olds can't drive? They don't have money, either? Well, how else are they getting ahold of these push-up bras and whore-friendly panties?

Their parents?

Noooo, couldn't be.

What adult who wants a daughter to grow up with high self-esteem would even consider purchasing such items? What parent is looking at their sweet, little girl thinking, "She would be perfect if she just had a little bit more up top."

And then I remember the little girl at the airport. And the girls we've all seen at the mall. And the kiddie beauty pageants.

And then I realize as creepy as it is to think a store like Abercrombie is offering something like the "Ashley", the fact remains that sex only sells because people are buying it. No successful retailer would consider introducing an item like a padded bikini top for kindergartners if they didn't think people would buy it.

If they didn't think parents would buy it, which raises the question: What in the hell is wrong with us?

It's easy to blast companies for introducing the sexy wear, but our ire really should be directed at the parents who think low rise jeans for a second grader is cute. They are the ones who are spending the money to fuel this budding trend. They are the ones who are suppose to decide what's appropriate for their young children to wear, not executives looking to brew up controversy or turn a profit.

I get it, Rihanna's really popular. But that's a pretty weak reason for someone to dress their little girl like her.

I don't care how popular Lil' Wayne is, my son knows I would break both of his legs long before I would allow him to walk out of the house with his pants falling off his butt. Such a stance doesn't always makes me popular -- and the house does get tense from time to time -- but I'm his father, not his friend.

Friends bow to peer pressure. Parents say, "No, and that's the end of it."

The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he'll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn't allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.

Maybe I'm a Tiger Dad.

Maybe I should mind my own business.

Or maybe I'm just a concerned parent worried about little girls like the one I saw at the airport.

In 2007, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?

A line needs to be drawn, but not by Abercrombie. Not by Britney Spears. And not by these little girls who don't know better and desperately need their parents to be parents and not 40-year-old BFFs.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

The push-up bra for seven year olds really surprised me, I didn't wear a training bra till High School.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Spot the dissonance:

Abercrombie's padded bikini for preteens stirs up fuss
Padded swimsuit won't be marketed to preteens anymore
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 03:06 AM
By Tim Feran

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Abercrombie & Fitch has bowed to controversy over a swimsuit deemed inappropriate for young girls by raising the target audience to 12 or older.
Previously, Abercrombie Kids had been offering a spring line of bikinis with a padded bra that was being marketed to girls as young as 7. Abercrombie addressed concerns about the swimsuit with a posting on the company's Facebook page that said: "We've re-categorized the Ashley swimsuit as padded. We agree with those who say it is best 'suited' for girls age 12 and older."

This lady makes the correct statement:

A commenter named Kimberly Lee Dougherty wrote: "7 and 8 year olds should NOT be wearing push-up or padded bathing suits. It's not a question of just not buying it we are saying it's wrong!!

It's wrong. People know it's wrong. Gob knows it (right?) else why relate the story to the tragic death of a "child model"? It's wrong. The world ought not to be exploiting children, turning little girls into hookers in appearance. But where is the anchor of this "wrongness" to be found? Take a look at TV and the movies which reflect our progress and see children making wisecracks about dad (or mum) getting laid woo-woo! Two and a Half men - a classic example of this. The torpedo of truth wouldn't know truth or morality if it bit him in the left elbow

Meade

[Gob]

It's wrong. People know it's wrong. Even Gob knows it (right?) else why relate the story to the tragic death of a "child model"?

Fixed that for you.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Gob]

How old is she?

[Sean]

Eight?

[Gob]

Six.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Wood

Wood has published a biographical picture book named Eden Wood: From Cradle To Crown and is planning the release of a Eden Wood doll.

A six year old's biography? That'll be a riveting read...

[The Hen]

I find that the most unattractive portrayal of a child the I have ever seen.

No. Cancel that exaggeration. They are all equally unattractive and vile. I pity the girls.

[rubato]

"Little miss sunshine" was too advanced for this group?


amazing


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

No, just too repulsive.

Meade

[quaddriver]

Six.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Wood

Wood has published a biographical picture book named Eden Wood: From Cradle To Crown and is planning the release of a Eden Wood doll.

A six year old's biography? That'll be a riveting read...

well for an expose on which sippy cup leaks the least and which diapers hold up to the really smelly blowout shits...sure

[loCAtek]

That book must be part of a sting by the FBI, to track who ever buys it.

[Gob]

Oh christ it gets worse..

Eden is bringing her "Las Vegas Showgirl Routine", complete with bags of plumage and sequins, to Australia as part of the first US-style beauty pageant for small children, to be held in Melbourne on July 29 and 30.

But Eden's US management and her mother, Mickie, are keen to include Sydney in the tour. Her agent has put feelers out for any deals to get the pint-sized showgirl to appear here.

Initially hoping to strike a deal with Fairfax Media for a paid interview with Eden, her manager Heather Ryan, of Iowa, said it could cost up to $20,000 to secure an audience with Eden.

"The standard fee for stories about her life in and outside of the pageant world vary greatly, from $5000 to as much as $20,000, depending on the travel and how elaborate the requirements of the story," Ryan explained.

"Generally Eden travels at least with her mom but, the more she is in demand, the more we require she also travel with security. She also often travels with a professional hair and make-up crew."

And it's not only the "Cutie Patootie" who is cashing in. The US founder of the hugely successful child beauty pageants that made Eden famous, Annette Hill, asked for a $5000 fee to be interviewed for this article.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/private ... z1LppFaV2z

[oldr_n_wsr]

Terrible.

[kristina]

that poor little girl...

[oldr_n_wsr]

I hope mom puts a side a good chunk of the kids earnings for the therapy she's going to need.

People talk about fathers living precariously (sp?) through their sons athletic accomplishements.

And where is dad in all this?

[dales]

These people need to be put down.

[loCAtek]

judge Kathy Petty says sometimes the parents go too far.

"When your child's on stage and they don't perform the way they want you to, don't spank them, hit them, things like that," she said. "I have seen that in the past, where the parents start yelling at them, actually spanks them … and I don't think that's encouraging."

Pageants Teach 'Performance-Based Esteem'?

Day two of the pageant focused on the contestants' bodies and their beauty as the children modeled swimsuits and formal wear.
PHOTO Since she was a year old Eden Wood has participated in beauty pageants. Her mother, Mickie Wood, says her now 4-year-old daughter enjoys getting dressed up and competing.
Courtesy Mickie Wood
Since she was a year old, Eden Wood has... View Full Caption

It's this portion of the contest that concerns many child psychologists the most. A 2007 study by the American Psychological Association contends that pageants teach young girls "to see themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated for their appearance."

The study linked a premature emphasis on appearance with "three of the most common mental health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression."

Family therapist Terry Real said that giving children "performance-based esteem" -- teaching them that their self worth comes from their talents or beauty -- is dangerous.

"What you want to teach your kid is you have worth because of who you are, period," he said.

Pageant owner Annette Hill calls the study "ridiculous" and says it's up to the parents to keep things positive.

"When they do studies like that they need to go to a pageant system and look at the kids and evaluate," she said. "I don't see any unhappy kids here."

Now, I ask you; Where are the pageants for boys? If this is good parenting, why aren't the male children receiving it?

[oldr_n_wsr]

Mickie Wood, says her now 4-year-old daughter enjoys getting dressed up and competing.

How about your daughter just likes pleasing mommy and knows that mommy likes when she dresses up and competes.