The Importance of Beauty

The first American beauty pageant was held in 1854 but was shut down due to massive public protest.  Beauty pageants reemerged in the 1920s, and by the 1960s beauty pageants for children became popular. Today child beauty pageants are one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.  The reality TV show Toddlers & Tiaras (see picture) has received much criticism from viewers who believe child beauty pageants to be harmful to the child.  Some of the most controversial episodes from this show include a child “smoking” a candy cigarette, a girl given fake boobs to depict Dolly Parton, and a child dressed as a hooker.  There are few people who believe that children should be depicted in these ways, and even those who believe that child beauty pageants are okay don’t usually go to such extremes as seen in the above examples.  Therefore the perplexing question is not whether or not child beauty pageants are moral or healthy for children (most agree that they are not) but rather one must ask why child beauty pageants have become increasingly popular.

The answer to this lies in the culture of American society.  Statistics (mapsofworld.com) show America to be number one on a list of 10 countries (U.S, Japan, France, Germany, UK, China, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden) with the highest spending on beauty treatments, products, and cosmetics. 17.9% of the worldwide cosmetic procedures are done in America.  The average American woman spends $40 per month on beauty products.  87% of these women believe that if they had more money they would spend more on beauty.  As evidenced by these statistics, beauty is a central focus of American life. 

Beauty is a large part of American society, but it is not equally important for men and women.  According to statistics (Huffington Post) 35 percent of women use one or two products daily, while 17 percent use three or four products a day. Meanwhile, the majority of men (54 percent) don't use a single product when getting ready in the morning. 

Clearly beauty is of upmost importance to our society, especially when it pertains to the female gender.  As the importance of beauty grows, the age of females included in beauty rituals (makeup, hair, etc.) lowers.  Young girls are being taught at younger ages than ever before the importance of beauty. They are being socialized into an adult world in which a women’s beauty correlates with her success.  A women’s likelihood to get a job, the income she makes, and her ability to find a mate are all affected by her looks.  The best looking women makes 8% more than the average looking women and the average looking women makes 4% more than the unattractive women (Business Insider).  These disturbing statistics make the importance of beauty placed on young girls seem almost reasonable.  Girls feel that they must use all the tools available to them in order to make themselves appear more beautiful in the eyes of society. 

Ultimately, beauty has not just become a desire in American society, but it has become a way of life.  While shows like Toddlers & Tiaras show the worst of society’s obsession with beauty, they are not dishonest in beauty’s importance.  Today’s society is one in which a women’s success is strongly influenced by her perceived beauty.