Another Pageant Story

[DeeDee249]

runsdeep,
IMO there is a link. Whether its simply one of influence or actual participation. The grandmother was alleged to have made remarks about the size of Burke's penis. So patently there may have been a degree of sexual laxity in the Paugh family?

This is probably why you have heard so little over the years from the Paughs?



.

Very possible. Talking about the size of a child's penis, I suppose, is something that may occur in SOME families, but it does indicate an attitude of laxity as far as that subject matter.
The silence of the grandparents, and one of Patsy's sisters was deafening.
I am not so sure Patsy was all that into Pageant values, per se. In her world, winning was everything to her, and Patsy and Nedra had their eye on the prize that Patsy herself (and her sister, also a former Miss West Virginia) missed. The Miss America crown belonged to JB, and she was going to strive for it whether she wanted it or not.
When asked what would happen if JB no longer wanted to compete in pageants, Nedra simply answered "We will say JonBenet, you WILL do it.".
The sad thing is, that as I watch JB in her pageant videos, she had such a natural beauty, grace and poise. When she looked at the judges, she radiated a sweetness that caught every eye. This all despite the showgirl costumes and suggestive moves.
By the way, JB's costumes, makeup and moves are NOTHING compared to the poor little girls on "Toddlers & Tiaras". No one needed to photoshop JB.

 

[vlpate]

Found it: TLC’s hit reality show Toddlers & Tiaras, featured a 4 year-old contestant, Maddy, who was dressed up as Dolly Parton. Complete with fake *advertiser censored* and butt.

OMG, this is worse than the one (recent), whose mother dressed her as the hooker in Pretty Woman.

 

[jujube]

OMG, this is worse than the one (recent), whose mother dressed her as the hooker in Pretty Woman.

On that episode, this little girl's mother said that the costume had been hers when she competed!!!

 

[UKGuy]

Very possible. Talking about the size of a child's penis, I suppose, is something that may occur in SOME families, but it does indicate an attitude of laxity as far as that subject matter.
The silence of the grandparents, and one of Patsy's sisters was deafening.
I am not so sure Patsy was all that into Pageant values, per se. In her world, winning was everything to her, and Patsy and Nedra had their eye on the prize that Patsy herself (and her sister, also a former Miss West Virginia) missed. The Miss America crown belonged to JB, and she was going to strive for it whether she wanted it or not.
When asked what would happen if JB no longer wanted to compete in pageants, Nedra simply answered "We will say JonBenet, you WILL do it.".
The sad thing is, that as I watch JB in her pageant videos, she had such a natural beauty, grace and poise. When she looked at the judges, she radiated a sweetness that caught every eye. This all despite the showgirl costumes and suggestive moves.
By the way, JB's costumes, makeup and moves are NOTHING compared to the poor little girls on "Toddlers & Tiaras". No one needed to photoshop JB.

DeeDee249,

Talking about the size of a child's penis, I suppose, is something that may occur in SOME families, but it does indicate an attitude of laxity as far as that subject matter.

I am the eldest of five brothers and two sisters. Whilst growing up nudity on occassions was normal, particularly when sharing the shower or bath etc. But Never once did anyone make remarks about the size of a penis, there was all the usual childish banter, and naughty jokes. Size differential was likely assumed to be a function of age.

The silence of the grandparents, and one of Patsy's sisters was deafening.

They have something to hide thats why they are not talking. Appearing on talk shows like Oprah, as mini celebrities, recounting the good times they had with JonBenet, her marvelous pageant wins, and reminding the public, a killer has not been brought to justice!

I am not so sure Patsy was all that into Pageant values, per se.

Well enough to force her daughter to participate when other kinds of learning were available, particularly as the wife of millionaire, on its own it could be seen as a nouveau riche indulgence, but in the context of a homicide and alleged prior molestation, were these values used as a rationale for darker ends?

When asked what would happen if JB no longer wanted to compete in pageants, Nedra simply answered "We will say JonBenet, you WILL do it.".

Nedra sounds quite the Matriarch, she seems to have imbued the pageant values, and was determined she would exercise influence on JonBenet by teaching her them, complete with dated Shirley Temple dvd's!

.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

You know how it's always said that JonBenet's murder introduced the country to child beauty pageants? Well, I decided to put that to the test. I did a search for "child beauty pageants" in my college's newspaper article archives database. The number of articles between 1986-1996? 10. The number of articles between 1997 and 2011? 718.

 

[badhorsie]

This is all so wrong. It is Child Abuse, why does no one see this??
:banghead:

 

[Elphaba]

Eden at the fashion show: was it held in a bar?!?!?! The background in the 2nd images looks like your typical "beers on table" bar image. When did beer and kids clothing line become a popular mix at fashion shows?

 

[krimekat]

this one got me! a 2 year old . . . here she is with her mom:

and how about this little "queen"

and her gramma & mamma

I cannot believe anything other than these children's matriarchal figures are pushing them to be in the limelight . . . these little girls cannot choose to be this exposed!

I saw the same thing in Patsy Ramsey !

It's one thing competing as a young lady, what 13+, but this little & this sexualized (is that a word?) - abuse in the highest; by their own moms (and in some instances, their dads)!

 

[DeeDee249]

What is sad is that little girl will grow up to look exactly like her mom and grandma. "Heredity is your destiny". How pretty will she feel then? These little girls are being taught that their only value lies in being considered the prettiest. Will they feel unloved when they are obese like momma and grandma? Will their moms still love them when they are no longer "pageant material"? More important, are they always worried their moms will no longer love them when they no longer compete?

 

[BlOnDe_GuRrL]

ya know what bothers me? the word "gyrate" and "gyrating" lol

and i'll agree that T&T is a train wreck. i love to watch it though... my favorite part is when mom says "ohh it's time for our spray tan - little suzi LOVES to get spray tanned!!!" then little suzi has to be chased all around the salon screaming... knocking crap over, ticking off all the workers and customers. that's almost as great as when they melt down backstage and yell at their moms to "shut up" and the judges and MC give each other weird looks... or when they destroy the hair do that took 6 hours to complete... LOVE it!

the only thing i disagree about is little paisley.. the one who dressed like julia roberts.
her mom is actually pretty normal and not off the hook like most moms. i've seen that mom and kid compete at least 3 times each season and they're not really all that "out there"
i didn't think her costume was a big deal. it was "celebrity wear" and she dressed as "julia roberts" - who is best known for her role in pretty woman. if her costume were really yucky, then i could see getting all bent out of shape about it.. but the only skin that was showing was her arms and shoulders. her boots & skirts covered her whole legs... her abdomen wasn't showing... there was nothing scandelous about that outfit at all.. just a tank top, jean skirt and boots. i thought the idea was cute. the kid didn't know her character was a hooker. would i do it with my daughter? no... i wouldn't want her to be upset if she didn't win a beauty pageant. but she does do competitive dance.. acrobatics, tap and ballet... lucky for me, they don't have her "gyrating" yet... that's usually around 7. so i still have a shot at "mother of the year" for the next year & a half.

 

[DeeDee249]

While the Julia Roberts "hooker" costume may not have been revealing, there is certainly something disturbing about a mother choosing to dress her little girl as a prostitute. There actually ARE child prostitutes, as horrifying as it is, and there is nothing cute about it.
Julia Roberts has done a number of roles that do not portray prostitutes, Tinker Bell among them. How more appropriate would that have been for a little girl? But it wouldn't have been as controversial and that is what was desired after all.
In a perfect world, no child would ever be taught to "gyrate", whether competitively or not. I am not criticizing competitive dance for children- I think all kids benefit from dedication and having a focus in their life. Dance is great for kids, and when a child has natural talent and a love for dance it should always be encouraged. It is the sexualizing of very young girls, whether through dance or not, that is the problem. The kids may not be aware of it, but the adults certainly are.
My daughter was a professional ballerina from age 8, going on to dance with Boston Ballet, among other local and regional companies. There are lots of pitfalls in that world, though no competitions. (though the ballet world is VERY competitive- "Black Swan" was spot on).
Her career ended when she hit 5'7". Not too many tall ballerinas in the major companies. Most of the men are rather short, and dancing en pointe (in toe shoes) adds 3 inches to a woman's height. A male dancer's contract also limits the weight he is required to lift - which is why so many female dancers have eating disorders.
I wasn't sorry she went on to college and another career (she became a marine biologist and an attorney), but I often wonder how much she misses it.

 

[AnaTeresa]

Blame Balanchine, DeeDee249. His emphasis on line ruined ballet for many women. Margot Fonteyn was never the anorexic waif we now associate with ballet.

And I agree about dance. There's a very big difference between dancing, of many different styles, and sexualized gyrating. I can't believe anyone would teach their six year old to execute moves that would be better served as a grown woman working a pole, but I only have to look at beauty pageants to see that I'm wrong about that. Shameful.

 

[gitana1]

Abbie, your wonderful post says it all about these competitions. I used to watch Little Miss Perfect and laugh at these mothers making complete fools of themselves as they performed the routines while their daughters were on stage. It was pitiful.

But, these pageants are no laughing matter. You are right, it's the mothers who are really competing in these matters through their own girls.

With the T & T shows it's the little ones I feel so sorry for. Who glues fake eyelashes on a two year old? I watched one show where while a mom was holding her little 2 to 3 year old, the child bangged her forehead on a door while she was squirming in her mom's arms. But, after a few kisses to the head, when the child's name was called, the mom took her on stage, black and blue forehead and all. Holy $hit.

I tune into these shows hoping, just hoping, someone from law enforcement and Child Protective Service shows up and puts a stop to it all. That's the show I want to see.

Little children who have only been walking for a few short months or maybe a year are not supposed to be crying and whining while being dressed up with make up and pushed out onto a stage. These mothers who insist their child loves the competition are insane.
jmo

There are parents that are way more abusive than that on this show. One was dragging her toddler around by the arm and flinging her around. She ran a daycare that was shut down after the show aired when it coincidentally was discovered that children were being abused there: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/hutto-day-care-ordered-closed


Here's another, who pitted her twin girls against one another and was so emotionally abusive to the one. She has five daughters and most of them still do pageants: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWcSaayzSCo"]Toddlers & Tiaras- The Sterling Twins' Mom - YouTube[/ame]

There have been quite a few other moms who are just out there psycho towards their poor kids.

The whole kiddie pageant thing is just such a bizarre phenomena, it probably deserves it's own special thread in a separate section!

This is all so wrong. It is Child Abuse, why does no one see this??
:banghead:

Many of us very much do see this as child abuse and exploitation!

ya know what bothers me? the word "gyrate" and "gyrating" lol

and i'll agree that T&T is a train wreck. i love to watch it though... my favorite part is when mom says "ohh it's time for our spray tan - little suzi LOVES to get spray tanned!!!" then little suzi has to be chased all around the salon screaming... knocking crap over, ticking off all the workers and customers. that's almost as great as when they melt down backstage and yell at their moms to "shut up" and the judges and MC give each other weird looks... or when they destroy the hair do that took 6 hours to complete... LOVE it!

the only thing i disagree about is little paisley.. the one who dressed like julia roberts.
her mom is actually pretty normal and not off the hook like most moms. i've seen that mom and kid compete at least 3 times each season and they're not really all that "out there"
i didn't think her costume was a big deal. it was "celebrity wear" and she dressed as "julia roberts" - who is best known for her role in pretty woman. if her costume were really yucky, then i could see getting all bent out of shape about it.. but the only skin that was showing was her arms and shoulders. her boots & skirts covered her whole legs... her abdomen wasn't showing... there was nothing scandelous about that outfit at all.. just a tank top, jean skirt and boots. i thought the idea was cute. the kid didn't know her character was a hooker. would i do it with my daughter? no... i wouldn't want her to be upset if she didn't win a beauty pageant. but she does do competitive dance.. acrobatics, tap and ballet... lucky for me, they don't have her "gyrating" yet... that's usually around 7. so i still have a shot at "mother of the year" for the next year & a half.

I must disagree with you strongly on the Julia Roberts outfit thing. Who cares that the outfit may have been a bit less revealing than some they wear on that show? It's that she dressed her baby as a hooker, a prostitute, and had her do a routine in that outfit that involved walking back and forth in front of a backdrop made to look like a street corner.

I don't care that the child may not have fully understood what she was doing or the character she was portraying. Little kids may not know what it means to say the F-word but we don't teach them to say it. They may not understand what strippers are doing but we don't allow them to watch strippers. Because their understanding of the world is shaped and perverted by exposure to things that strip them of their innocence, even when they do not totally understand.

The bottom line is that this is a mother who thought it was cute for her toddler to dress up like a character who is a street walker, a hooker. That says so much about who this mother is and the messages she is conveying to her child about gender and femininity, what role models to look up to and what one can do to get ahead. It was appallingly wrong, IMO:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxEt5YL8w4"]Toddlers & Tiaras - Toddler Dressed as Pretty Woman - YouTube[/ame]

 

[eileenhawkeye]

One thing I don't understand about Eden Wood's "career"----What demographic is she appealing to? Who is going to buy products with Eden's face on them? Who is going to pay money to watch Eden sing "Cutie Patootie" in concert?

 

[Squishified]

One thing I don't understand about Eden Wood's "career"----What demographic is she appealing to? Who is going to buy products with Eden's face on them? Who is going to pay money to watch Eden sing "Cutie Patootie" in concert?

Perverts, I guess.

 

[Linda7NJ]

And she's not even cute.

I think she's adorable, sweet child and I feel really bad for her.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Ok, I know you are all going to disagree with me but I do see this very differently than most.

I've watched Little Miss Perfect and T & T since they came on with the intent to understand Patsy better. I do feel some children (typically the older ones) really enjoy it and have fairly normal parents. We just don't see much of those, that wouldn't make good tv.

I view it not much different than any other child's competitive activity. I can tell you for sure and without a doubt there are just as many psycho dads out there forcing their sons into sports. I've seen it.

The good parents are few. Few are actually using the competition in a constructive and enriching way.

I think Eden Wood's mom is a nut job. I also hope she is saving for her education...I somehow doubt it. I do think Eden is a cute & sweet and and outgoing kid that doesn't deserve some of the comments I read here.

 

[Elphaba]

First a hooker, now a biker vixen. Someone please send that child's mother some warm age-appropriate clothes to cover that poor kid up. For gawds sake, the child is ONLY THREE.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/11/01/toddl...er-chick-halloween-pretty-woman/#.TrBlu83D6v0

 

[DeeDee249]

That's disgusting, it really is. Look at her POSE! That is worse than the costume. Where is that poor child's innocence? I hope it doesn't get destroyed because of her mother.

 

[Nefriahaia]

That's disgusting, it really is. Look at her POSE! That is worse than the costume. Where is that poor child's innocence? I hope it doesn't get destroyed because of her mother.

I have a sick feeling that it's already gone...:twocents:I cannot even begin to express my opinion on these pageant "mothers" or I will surely get banned.