You wouldn’t sexualize a child or exploit their physical appearance. The child beauty pageant industry focuses on judging a child based on their looks, which leads to the hyper sexualization of the youth that participate in these competitions. I’m assuming nobody would want their child’s innocence stolen from a friendly competition. 

Sadly, I am going to tell you why beauty pageants are inappropriate for children, and should be made illegal for minors to participate in. Beauty pageants is where the concept of acceptable beauty standards is promoted. The standard of beauty is marketed, and even manipulated by beauty pageants. Intertwined in the idea of standard beauty includes having perfectly dyed hair, elaborate makeup, flashy clothing, and high heels. Children should not be subjected to the abuse of harsh hair chemicals and painful high heels that are the status quo of beauty pageants.

You may be wondering why I am preaching to you about child beauty pageants. It may seem like a frivolous event, but I am here to tell you that isn’t the case. Beauty pageants place the child’s body on public display, only to be visually consumed by the audience. I'm sure if you were in the audience, you would see it as provocative and perverted. Who else might be sitting in the audience? The local pedophile is sitting in the audience, soaking in the view of inappropriate clothing adorned by the innocent child performing.

You may argue that child beauty pageants can help promote confidence and give a child social skill. You may point out that it allows them to showcase their singing and dancing skills, but according to the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, participating in competitions that sexualize looks, they are more likely to develop issues later in life, like an eating disorder or self-esteem issues. Do any of these outweigh the negative effects a beauty pageant has on a child? It is clear the negatives far surpass the positives when it comes to exploiting and sexualizing children in the pageant industry.

We as citizens can put a proposed new law directly on the ballot in the next election by collecting voters' signatures on a petition. Imagine what it would it be like if we can do these actions? 

No children should be allowed to compete in beauty pageants. Beauty pageants only teach the innocent youth that you do not matter unless you are beautiful and sexually inappropriate. You wouldn’t sexualize a child, but while child beauty pageants remain legal you are allowing it to happen. It is obvious all they do is sexualize children, expose them to abuse, and put them at risk for pedophilic encounters. Beauty pageants should be made illegal for minors to participate in, and your signature will make a real difference. Let’s stop this cycle and allow our children to be innocent children.