For my blog post I would like to discuss Sex "R" Us from Enlightened Sexism. While I found the chapter to be highly entertaining and humorous, I also found it to be quite disturbing. The discussion about beauty pageants is mainly what agitated me, in addition to the overall idea of selling sex to young kids.
Beauty pageants, in general, are something with which I disagree. Beauty pageants for children, however, are something I believe to be incomparably f***ed up. I've watched Toddlers and Tiaras and have literally felt like I was going to vomit. I cannot think of a more perverse show on TV. First, the girls are too young to even attend kindergarten, for the most part. They are not receiving education, but are being taught by their parents and the beauty pageant world what will make them successful: beauty. But this beauty is by no means natural, thus it is unattainable. These little girls go tanning (gross), wear fake teeth (gross!), wear more makeup than I do (gross!!!), show as much skin as I show when I am at the beach (GROSS), and they dance seductively on stage in front of an audience of people who are encouraging them (GROSS!!!!!!!).
Furthermore, there are the judges in the beauty pageant world. What is their deal? Honestly, I'm curious. These people, as I've seen, are old men, for the most part, who are creepy beyond compare. They look at these little girls and have huge grins on their faces and glimmers in their eyes. I would be uncomfortable if these judges were looking at me this way, and I am 21 years old. The fact that they are looking at girls who are toddlers in this way...It has never been easier to spot a pervert. Besides the fact that the judges are suspiciously interested in the way these little girls look, there is the fact that they are essentially telling girls how they should look.
I am bothered by the idea that beauty pageants and selling sex to young children promote a certain idea of beauty. Douglas cited one woman who said, "You do not put lipstick on your 6-year-old," and I completely agree (p. 159). Why does your pre-prepubescent child need lipstick??? Children are not supposed to look like adults. If they were, then they naturally would. Thus, this brings me back to what I had mentioned earlier about unnatural and unattainable beauty. This idea is plastered all over and affects women of all ages. So, I dislike the idea that the image of beauty is forced on children at such a young age. Not to mention, it makes these cute little kids looks terrifying.
YES, inquiring minds, this IS a real picture. I had to stare at it for 20+ minutes to figure it out. This is, in fact, a real, live, toddler, and, shockingly, NOT a bloodthirsty doll who will kill you in your sleep.
Douglas discusses how companies realize that sex sells, and how in the somewhat recent past, the persona of the "sexpert" has become more prevalent and popular. What annoys me is that this is being sold to all ages. But for girls who are in beauty pageants, this idea isn't completely understood. Do any of these toddlers in tiaras understand what being sexual is? Do they know the meaning behind all that they are doing? No. Absolutely not. They are being objectified by their parents, of all people. They themselves are not choosing this. They do not understand girl power. I know I didn't realize that women could objectify themselves for their own benefit until I was in college. So it is impossible that these children who are not even in kindergarten can understand this concept.
While I believe that it is wrong for companies to market sex, I think that women can choose to aspire to whatever standard of beauty they would like. I think that women can be as sexual as they would like. I think that women can be as feminine as they would like. Women. I do not think that children should be affected by the same things. They do not have the brain capacity to understand and choose for themselves. They are being told what is feminine, what is sexy, what is beautiful. It's almost as though there is a new Cult of True Womanhood, but I kind of think that this new one has more negative effects than the old one.
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