Has anyone else watched TLC's show "Toddlers and Tiaras"??? (*note: they're not actually limited to "toddlers" - just a catchy title, I guess)It's like a really, really bad accident - I feel so sick, and yet I'm having trouble looking away. (which is funny - I figured I could play it in the background while I worked on homework, but no. It is so horrific I have been watching.)
And it reminds me of a recent comment in reply to one of Heidi's posts - what was that about parenting NOT being a competitive sport?? Try telling that to some of these moms and dads!
I wonder how pageants will fare in the case of economic crisis?
I want to simultaneously steer you toward it and warn you away.
Go ahead - check it out - I dare you - and then lets talk about things like societal values.
You can also check out White Trash Mom's blogsite for more...
I just don't even have the words to respond, right now. I'm changing the website and getting back to work...
2 comments:
I had never heard of this show and kind of wish it had stayed that way (sometimes it's nice not to have cable!). This is pretty horrifying. I feel sorry for these little girls -- how often do you suppose they get to run around outside, riding bikes and climbing trees and making mudpies and skinning knees? And the fake teeth thing mentioned in the White Trash Mom link is just creepy. They're children for God's sake!
I stumbled across it last week and couldn't unglue my eyes from the tube either. At one point in the episode a child was having a tantrum and didn't want to participate. She said she wanted a break from it. The mother said, "let's count your crowns." After counting almost a hundred crowns the child was ready to participate, and I was a little disturbed that the mother manipulated her child like that. I also ran across these girls on Tyra's talk show as I was surfing and left it on to see what would happen. Tyra asked the girl whether she would prefer to be smart or beautiful. The child preferred to be beautiful. Tyra told her that next time she should say she prefers to be both smart and beautiful. But, if you are a child competing in an arena where only beauty matters, why would you give up your beauty for some abstract notion of "intelligence," a concept of which she probably doesn't even grasp given her cognitive development. Yes, Tyra, just tell her some pat answer to give the judges the next time she is asked that question.
Post a Comment