Are beauty contests harmful?

Question

So......Beauty contests promote an ideal of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire, but which adds to the pressure on all women to conform to it. This can be harmful to women by encouraging dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, or simply by making them feel inadequate and ugly. ...?

OR...... People enjoy beauty contests. Many women enjoy entering them. Many people enjoy watching them. Nobody is forced to do either. The beauty of a fit, healthy, well-proportioned human form is something from which we can all take pleasure, and beauty contests, along with other forms of art, are vehicles which enable us to do so.

What do you think?

Answer 1

The person in the contest should use it to there advantage.  For example if they have a fear of getting up in front of a group of people or public speaking.

As far as the eating disorders they will always be around no matter what.

Answer 2

depend whos in it if there are nice girls then its not, but if there's snotty one it will be

Answer 3

No, they are not harmful as long as you don't let it go to your head.  

Answer 4

only for kids, kids should not be viewed as s*x or beauty objects , they are children, adults are different, look at Jon Benet Ramsay, way inappropriate what they did putting her in that pageant.

Answer 5

I like them! I especially like the fact that these girls don't look like they are stick figures!! Most of these girls, especially the teen USA pageants have curves and thicker thighs than runway models! They are healthy fit girls, why would looking like that be harmful to girls, these younger girls should actually aspire to change their own eating habits and better themselves! You can look just as good without having to enter these contests, but if they choose to enter than so be it. I only see harm when they become obsessed and take extreme measures to achieve an unrealistic goal of perfection, which does not exist! These shows and contests should encourage a healthy lifestyle to the ever growing obesity epidemic we are have encountered! Most of these probs can be avoided with the right support system, ex. family!

Answer 6

Harmful, no.

To me, it is just the same as American Idol contest. No everybody can sing. And it requires a tremendous effort to be able to sing good.

Answer 7

beauty should not be standardised to a particular size and frame,as it varies with diff countries,beauty in mind ,health and spirit should be seen as a whole

Answer 8

I think you have a homework assignment and you are asking people to do the assigment.

If people enjoy entering and watching them then fine.  But the harm comes in when people try to conform to that type of person and lifestyle and they can't.  People come in all shapes and sizes, and beauty contests are basically very strict in the type of contests they take.  A slightly overweight girl won't ever make it.  A slight dissproportional girl won't make it. a girl with any tattoos won't make it. etc..../