Let's Pull The Pin on Child Beauty Pageants

9/6/2011

A couple of months ago Universal Royalty announced that they were heading to Australia. That's right, the company of 'Toddlers and Tiaras' fame decided that Australia needed to glitz up their kids, and they were the people to help!

But there was a strong voice of opposition in Australia, and many voiced outrage at the proposal. Catherine Manning founded Pull The Pin and rallies were held all around Australia to draw attention to the pageants and the the harm they cause. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have backed calls for child beauty pageants to be banned, saying they encourage the sexualisation of children and can cause developmental harm. The chair of the college stated "We're giving these kids messages that how they appear, how they perform and standards about what they're to come up to is actually more important than what they're like inside."

Catherine is an Enlighten Education colleague of mine, and last week when Universal Royalty announced they were also New Zealand-bound, Catherine asked me to coordinate the Pull The Pin campaign in New Zealand. I felt honoured to be asked, and set up the Pull The Pin NZ facebook page.

We are campaigning to end all child beauty pageants in New Zealand. It is our view that pitting young girls against each other in a competition based on physical beauty is potentially harmful to their development, and can lead to lowered self esteem and other conditions including eating disorders and depression. We are also concerned with the adultification and sometimes sexualisation of pageant entrants, and their engagement in adult cosmetic treatments such as waxing and spray tanning. We are calling on the government to legislate to stop parents and pageant organisers from exploiting children by enforcing age restrictions on beauty pageants and adult cosmetic procedures (unless for medical reasons).

We will be co-ordinating public rallies once we have more information on when and where these pageants will be held.

It's been fantastic receiving so much support on this issue - it is definitely a topic that many New Zealanders feel strongly about!

New Zealand media coverage over the last couple of days:

Sunday Star Times 5/6/11 (I am quoted in this article)
TVNZ 9/6/11, by Vicki Wilkinson Baker

Enlighten Education's CEO Danielle Miller was interviewed this morning about the sexualisation of girls and the effect that child beauty pageants have:

And if you needed any more convincing that these pageants are NOT something we want to become a part of kiwi culture, check out this video featuring Universal Royalty's Eden Wood:

10 Comments

Bill Rayner

29/6/2011 02:58:34 am

Good morning Rachel

I an a Grey Power Federation Board member and Zone Director for the Auckland region.

I am extremely concerned about the possibility of child "beauty pageants" being started in NZ by Universal Royal Beauty Pageants and am certain that all Grey Power members would find the concept repugnant, and horrified at the exploitation of young girls, in essence their grand children, in this way.

Please keep me informed of any developments with the issue as Grey Power would like to support you in your efforts to shut the pageants out of NZ.

Regards

Bill Rayner

Lynnette Ebborn

10/8/2011 10:20:24 am

I am horrified that this abuse of children could become a part of the culture of New Zealand. I need not even see clips or photos to be able to analyse how this demeans and devalues the right of our children to be children.

Kay

10/8/2011 12:38:03 pm

I support your efforts in campaigning to end all child beauty pageants in New Zealand

Melissa

11/8/2011 01:46:31 am

Dear Rachel

As a woman and mother to a wonderfully happy 2 1/2 year old kiwi girl, I am very happy to stand up against this type of 'show' in New Zealand.

Sincerely
Melissa Guy

Tony Price

11/8/2011 04:27:13 am

I don't have enough hair left to be a member of Grey Power, but am also strongly opposed to the objectification of young girls in this way. It is nothing more than child exploitation for the personal gain of the organisers, and as I was in conflict with our Filipina daughter-in-law over this sort of thing, because she did not understand the difference between her daughter showing her skills on stage - she plays the violin and has tap-danced - and just being dolled up with makeup and meringue dresses and paraded on stage with other similarly adorned young girls, I do have rather strongly negative feelings about the idea. My wife feels the same way.

Casey (Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse)

26/8/2011 03:50:25 am

I hope Rachel Hansen is a positive person that allows all comments.

What's happening NZ? Why would you want to stop an opportunity, a little girl's dream especially for a child who could potentially become NZ Top model, celebrity or even so the prime minister of NZ. The saddest part is when I see all the negative comments about children being in beauty pageants. How can we say it will lead to depression, low self esteem if we NZ haven't even given these little girls a chance to enter in a NZ pageant, do we now make decisions based on another country downfalls, I think we can do better. Okay yes getting cosmetic surgery in my opinion is wrong. But come on NZ, I love this country because we look for a solution, so lets be proactive, create guidelines, or even a mandatory course in being a positive role model parent etc, be the first in the world to implement positive changes for the good well-being of our little ones, and their parents. But please NZ, don't take a little girls dream away from her, before it even begins.
Finally, do you really want to be the Wicked Witch of NZ?

Lisa

14/9/2011 06:26:34 am

Rachel,

I fully support the banning of these child beauty pagents. I believe that the children are exploited and further, are put at risk by sexual predators. Children grow up so quick these days, they really don't need to be encouraged any younger to miss out on their childhood. I have seen t.v shows showing the ways the children are presented with clothes, make-up and moves that all belong only in the adult world and I just think it's sick. As for the comment from Casey, I think you will find that there are a whole lot of people who are prepared to be "the Wicked Witch of NZ" to protect our children, Rachel will definitely not be alone!

Rachel Hansen link

14/9/2011 07:15:17 am

Thanks for your support everyone. And yes Lisa, it's been amazing to see all the support out there for our campaign! Far from being the 'wicked witch' that Casey fears I may be, I am all about empowering children to be the best that they can be. (In a way that goes far deeper than a narrowly defined version of beauty that we see in child beauty pageants).

We now have a NZ petition that supporters can sign! http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/pull-the-pin-on-beauty-pageants-for-children-in-new-zea.html

Kate

22/1/2012 09:56:27 am

http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?q=children+beauty+pageants+before+and+after&start=356&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=687&tbm=isch&tbnid=iWZgC7jDHfJNXM:&imgrefurl=http://www.paideiaschool.net/opinions/2011/03/31/are-child-beauty-pageants-borderline-abuse-2/attachment/storymaker-before-an1f00cf/&docid=IJhLKvPvr4o21M&imgurl=http://www.paideiaschool.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/storymaker-before-an1F00CF.jpg&w=516&h=440&ei=2owbT5L6JO6wiQeSzrCcCw&zoom=1&chk=sbg&iact=hc&vpx=188&vpy=313&dur=841&hovh=207&hovw=243&tx=141&ty=158&sig=111369492155534947284&page=16&tbnh=147&tbnw=179&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:356
Her eyes are not smiling.
Playgrounds where not made so little girls could sit on the side, putting lipstick on, playground where made so all children could play on them.
I miss the days when I brushed my hair without even thinking about it, like this is my everyday route, now it's like I NEED to brush my hair.
When I was a little girl, I only thought of my weight at the Doctors office, when the doctor told me to get on the scales.
And when we went camping I did not worry one cent about not having a mirror, cause I simply didn't care, I cared more about which toys I should bring with me.
I can't image my children's childhood being the opposite of mine, no matter how hard I try, it's sounds too horrible to think about.

Juliet

5/3/2012 06:45:14 am

My 10 year old daughter would love to to these ''american style beauty pageants'' and has practised routines.I don't want to let her dwn and support her.What should I do if a child wants to do it.

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Let's Pull The Pin on Child Beauty Pageants

Leave a Reply.

Author

Archives

Categories