ELC231/OCTOBER2021/APBTAPAH

ACADEMY OF LANGUAGE STUDIES

UiTM PERAK BRANCH TAPAH CAMPUS

TEMPLATE FOR EVALUATIVE COMMENTARY

INTRODUCTION Title of the article: Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?

Overview of the article: Children beauty pageant is a beauty contest that is made specifically for children between the
age of 5 years old to 17 years old. The contestants will have to wear makeup and fancy clothes to participate in the
contest that consists of modeling in a swimsuit and dress, talent show, and such. Nowadays, beauty pageant among
children has been gaining a lot of attention especially from the medias to the point they are making series regarding the
contest which also sparks a lot of debate and criticism among netizens as they believe that by encouraging a young girl to
enter such competitions will give a negative impact towards the children live.

Author’s POV/Stand: against Author’s tone: critical

BODY 1. (Author’s opinion 1 + 2. (Author’s opinion 2 + supporting 3. (Author’s opinion 3 + supporting details)
PARAGRAPH 1 supporting details) details)
(everything from From the research conducted, it can be
the article given Experts have agreed that taking Next, at the early age, young female seen that former small-sized beauty
but paraphrase!) part in activities that mainly depend that have eating disorders had to train pageant candidates are more likely to
on physical image at an early age to achieve physical flawlessness, suffer from eating disorders.
can take a toll on teenagers or slimness, athletic skills, and charmness.
adults’ confidence, body After the child “retired” from the pageant
appearance, and self-acceptance. As stated by one of the childhood life, they must deal with issues regarding
dancers, they criticized themselves self-identity including dieting,
The showering of unconditional depends on appearance, dance flawlessness, eating disorder, and body
love from parent or guardian can capability and, they can never be appearance that affects their adulthood.
lead to body image disturbance, satisfied with their diet.
low self-confidence and stress
about body image.
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(strong evidence/research/study (strong evidence/research/study that (strong evidence/research/study that

BODY 1. (Your opinion regarding author’s 2. (Your opinion regarding author’s 3. (Your opinion regarding author’s
PARAGRAPH 2 opinion 1 + the reason) opinion 2 + the reason) opinion 3 + the reason)

In our opinion, the problem Next, this beauty pageant forced Our other point of view is that this
regarding self-confidence, and body children to go on a strict diet that does competition will cause a long-term
appearance happened because not make any sense for a normal child negative impact towards the former
when the children enter any beauty to follow. The parent or trainer will pageant's candidate, including struggles in
competition, they will solely judge limit the food consumption of the child maintaining their diet, accepting their
by their physical appearance from in order to achieve a slim figure and body as the way they are as they get older.
the adult and as a child, they might they also have to go through a harsh It happens because the past trauma that
not be able to take it the same as regime to shape up their athletic skills formed from their childhood will keep on
the adult does which will lead to unhealthily. Without knowing, they accumulating to the point it will influence
lack of self-assurance and feeling already have been brainwashed to their brain and lifestyle to be worse. They
that they will never be enough. The think that all of that is a symbol of also will face difficulty to be the
judgement from jury and the attractiveness and more important “someone” that they want to be when they
society can be toxic as they will than both their mental and physical are older because they already used to be
condemn the participants harshly health. Besides, they will also be prone shaped to always be perfect physically
to fit the beauty standard without to criticize themselves based on their while neglecting their mental health.
reconsidering the child’s feelings athleticness, beauty, and diet.
and self-esteem.

According to research, the beauty According to the findings of the current According to the research, this beauty
standard for women has become study, women who participated in pageant had significant consequences such
increasingly unrealistic and beauty pageant as children scored as weight loss disorderliness, psychological
ridiculous over time. The media significantly higher on measures of matter, and unhappiness. This issue will
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plays a significant role in body dissatisfaction, interpersonal cause problems later in life and will affect
determining what is and is not mistrust, and impulsive dysregulation someone for a long time. As a result of the
acceptable in society's beauty than those women who did not beauty pageants, there will be borderline
standards. They featured a model compete in children beauty pageant. child pornography and pedophilia
who was extremely unhealthy and There is also a trend among children's behavior. According to the research, this
had unrealistic goals that were beauty pageant contestants to feel a beauty pageant has not only short-term
greater feeling of uselessness than non-
difficult to achieve. This will cause but also long-term consequences because
participants. There were no significant
beauty pageants to follow the adults who have a child beauty pageant
differences between the two groups on
media because they only care about denied their child's childhood, which they
bulimic behavior, depression, body
their appearance because self- perception or self-esteem. (ANNA L. can never get back. Because of their lack of
esteem is important. (Adams, 2017) WONDERLICH, 2005) experience in childhood and their ability to
relate to normal children's things, they will
be disliked by other children. (UKEssays,
Adams, W. (2017, October 19). 2018)
WILLIAM P. ADAMS JR., MD
PLASTIC SURGERY. UKEssays. (November 2018). The Child
ANNA L. WONDERLICH, D. M. (2005).
WILLIAM P. ADAMS JR., MD Beauty pageants. Retrieved from
Childhood Beauty Pageant
PLASTIC SURGERY. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/young-
Contestants:Associations with
https://www.dr-
Adult Disordered Eating And people/the-child-beauty-pageants-young-
adams.com/blog/how-
Mental Health. Eating people-essay.php?vref=1
beauty-pageants-can-
Disorders, 301.
affect-self-esteem/
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COUNTER (Your opinion regarding author’s opinion + the reason)

(strong evidence/research/study that supports your opinion/reason)

CONCLUSION Restate your stand towards the issue including the reasons. (based on Body Paragraph 2)

Include a comment/suggestion.

All in all, we came to the agreement that children beauty pageants really do have a lot of negative impact on the
children's mental and physical health. A lot of people might see it as a cute and harmless competition, but the truth is
those young children have to suffer in silence and putting their feelings and emotions at high stakes in order to achieve
the toxic “ideal beauty standard” that has been perpetrated by the media. Therefore, I suggest that we should teach the
children and the society to embrace and normalize the real beauty and to love themselves inside and out rather than
spreading the idealism of the fabricated beauty that only focus on appearance and body standard.