Hello, sailor.
A recent e-mail has caused me to once again ponder the time-honored and extremely Southern phenomenon of the child beauty pageant circuit. I know that our culture does not include a predilection for subtlety and I enjoy that. But can't an eight-year-old girl be beautiful without eye makeup and lipstick?
Posted by floridacracker at February 24, 2007 03:54 PMmean trick, Donnah
mean, mean, mean
However, I will send the article link to her mom
for the gravity effect. It makes sense.
Can she ride in the parade though? You can even sponcer her on a Florida Cracker float.
I used to babysit a little pageant girl named Alyssa. There were trophies everywhere, and that was fine, but the photos creeped me out even as a 16-year old. They were of a heavily made-up five-year-old.
I know for us this a cultural practice based on innocent dress-up, but with the mainstream culture's increasing sexualization of little girls, I'm not seeing much difference between them but the tiara.
You're correct
I seen some little girls today that were masked with make-up.
Crackerette was naturally pretty, articulate, and bright, not tacky. You would have been proud.
What parade is this? Didn't the Edison Parade already happen this year and wouldn't you have had to register a float long before?
Posted by: Donnah at February 24, 2007 08:57 PMThe Cracker theme intrigues you doesn't it?
yeah :)
Well, why stop there ? What if all women stopped wasting time and money trying to be or look like or seem something they are not ? Would there be less romance or sex or love or happiness ? No. There would only be ...less time and money wasted.
I have to tone my women down...and the critters still follow 'em home. Damn make-up.
My cousin's daughter made it all the way to Miss Tennessee.. I've had four daughter's that made it past the 'pageant draft' krewe, (they attack during day-care years) thankfully.
I REALLY enjoyed all the 'inbred' overtones that the guy inserted in the article..
Is this whole 'baby-slut' thing really *a southern deal* ?? Since when..??
After you watch that, watch the movie "Little Miss Sunshine". Olive doing her "Super Freak" routine is the best thing I have seen a child actress do in a long time.
(Rated R for language, some sex and drug content)
OK, ever since the JonBenet thing I have been a bit weirded out by this, but I think I come down on the "all things in moderation" plank. Most of the girls I have known recently who have been in these pageants did no more than one or two a year, and spent almost all of their time in the woods and riding RVs with a pack of other country kids. Their mothers probably figure that it won't hurt them to learn a bit of slightly more girly behavior.
Obviously the mother described in the link has exceeded all sane boundaries. Still, it's likely to be less harmful to the girl than some of the sports parents I have known, who actually push their kids to the extent of harming them physically.
Posted by: MaxedOutMama at February 25, 2007 12:25 PMI had a preacher once who was not an advocate of women wearing make up, but I heard him say once that even an old barn looked better with a coat of paint on it.
Posted by: nancy at February 25, 2007 03:07 PMlol @ nancy..
Hey I'm not stupid..I put crap on my face once in a while. I think it makes me look younger..why I want to do that, I have no idea.
My daughters on the other hand.. I have watched menfolk *change* when the girls *sprouted* a bit..very unsettling, especially around prom time, when the 14 year old looks like Paris Hilton..egads.
I have kept it from them as long as I could..
Posted by: csason at February 25, 2007 08:08 PMAnyone seen the latest Sarah Siverman Programme?
I feel it tackle this issue with great sensitivity.