By Jessy Dishakjian (Grade 10S)

Teacher: Mrs. Rosine Tchelderian 

Beauty contest is a competition where women are mostly judged by their physical beauty. Nowadays, this beauty contest has evolved so rapidly that children have entered this line.

Children’s beauty pageant focuses on the external beauty of the children instead of their internal values, as a result, they  become more concerned with  their looks than anything else. Nevertheless, in addition to the high cost of dresses and the damage inflicted on their children’s health, the parents pay a lot of money on the harmful makeup and force their children to follow specific diets, to resemble the perfect image that the society has created; to be perfect and flawless, which we already know is impossible to achieve. This kind of contest confuses the children since they can’t distinguish between reality and competition, and they develop self-images which have a demoralizing and harmful effect on their self-confidence. Sometimes the pressure becomes unbearable for them, and this leaves a long-term defect in their lives.

I think that beauty pageants should be banned, because no one, especially children, should be judged by how they look, since physical appearance is not something we can control but it is something we were born with. Instead, the focus should be on what they can learn and they can achieve. This competition is only acceptable, if the participation is just for fun, for the competition causes depression to the children who join and lose.