So, in reality television there is a program called Toddlers and Tiaras. I can’t say that I have ever seen it. The premise is apparently mom’s who enter their daughters in beauty pageants. The girls are painted up, dressed in what would be considered provocative clothing for an adult. Nw if that isn’t bad enough, one mom took it a step further and scheduled a time when reporters could see an exhibition put on by her daughter at a restaurant in New York City. Now this mother is suing various media outlets for sexualizing her daughter.
What happened to personal accountability? What is she doing to her daughter by entering her in these pageants? Who is really to blame for the “sexualization” of her daughter? Or is it something like greed that is driving mom? It seems to me that being a kid is hard enough in this society with all of the “social pressures” that come from friends, commercials and other factors.
Here is the blurb about the lawsuit on cnn:
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/27/toddlers-tiaras-mom-sues-media-outlets-for-sexualizing-her-daughter/?hpt=hp_bn4
The public needs to put a foot down and say “no more” to these “reality tv shows”. In what world is this reality? If we have shows like this one, and doesn’t that explain the need for a show like Teen Moms 2? There was a time when 14 and 15 year olds had children regularly, but that was a long time ago, and times are very much different now. This isn’t the old west. If we start to glorify irresponsibility, the next generation will redefine the term.
What kind of stigma are these kids feeling if they are deemed as “losers” in the very formative early years of their lives? Can that damage be undone? If they are taught that they have to be beauty queens long before they hit puberty, what happens when reality hits at puberty and they start to think that they aren’t so beautiful? What teen doesn’t have feelings of inadequacy regarding their appearance?
I guess I don’t have answers, just more questions. The only way that these shows are going to end is if people either stop participating or no longer watch them on television. I find it sad that for some kids, this is their reality.