Beauty Pageants and Our Children Essay Example for Free

Beauty Pageants and Our Children Essay Alost 3 million children, most of them girls, from the ages of 6 months and 17 years compete in beauty pageants annually in America. Competition can be local and national and they compete in categories such as swimwear, talent, costume of your choice, and eveningwear. This is an industry where mothers give her daughter energy drinks for a boost before pageants, 3-year-olds don fake fingernails, and parents regularly spend five thousand dollars on a childs pageant outfit (O’Neill 1). Beauty pageants have negative consequences on America’s youth contestants through the pressure to be â€Å"perfect,† media influences, and child sexualization, which results in exhaustion, eating disorders, and body image issues in their future. In recent years, the child beauty pageant industry has exponentially grown in size and popularity. This growth is mainly due to television shows, such as Toddlers Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo that may be entertaining but exploit little girls in the process. These reality shows expose the behind-the-scenes horrors of beauty pageants that most people were oblivious too before. These shows have also revealed the use of energy supplements to improve the contestants performance, age-inappropriate costumes, intense and painful beauty regimens. Alana Thompson, featured on TLC’s Toddlers Tiaras, is a seven-year-old beauty queen, nicknamed Honey Boo Boo, whose mother frequently gives her the infamous â€Å"Go-Go Juice†, a mix of Red Bull and Mountain Dew, before pageants. It is common knowledge that energy drinks are bad for one’s health, but every nutritionist in the world would agree that Red Bull for a seven-year-old is tremendously dangerous. Alana now has her own reality television show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Parents are not only harming their children’s health but also their moral. On one Toddlers Tiaras episode, Paisley, merely 3-years-old, sported a costume based on the prostitute in Pretty Woman. In a 2011 episode, Madiysyn Mady Verst‘s mother filled out the then-4-year-olds chest with fake breasts and an impossibly round behind for a Dolly Parton routine. Experts in child development argue the difference between playing dress-up and making a profession out of it. Little girls are supposed to play with dolls, not be dolls, says Mark Sichel, a New York-based licensed clinical social worker, who calls the extreme grooming common at pageants a form of child abuse. Playing dress-up is normal and healthy, but when its demanded, it leaves the child not knowing what they want, he says. Accentuating their appearance with such accoutrements as fake hair, teeth, spray tans and breast padding causes the children tremendous confusion, wondering why they are not okay without those th ings (Triggs 1). All of this confusion and body image problems is instilled in child beauty pageant contestants at a very young age. Ultimately, this leads to eating disorders, psychological issues, and relationship problems in the contestants’ later years. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota by Anna Wonderlich, Diann Ackard, and Judith Henderson showed the correlation between childhood beauty pageants and adult disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, depression, and self-esteem (Wonderlich 1). The results of this scientific experiment proved that for all the tests that assessed characteristics of anorexia and bulimia nervosa scores for those who had participated in beauty pageants were higher than scores for those who had not participated (Wonderlich 5). These results indicate a significant association between childhood beauty pageant participation and increased body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increased feelings of ineffectiveness (Wonderlich 6). Another example of the destructive effects of childhood beauty pageant is Brooke Breedwell, now nineteen, who was a child pageant contestant and a star of the television documentary, â€Å"Painted Babies.† â€Å"As a girl, [Breedwell] suffered from stress and anxiety while striving for an unrealistic standard of perfection. [In various interviews], she explains that her mothers ambition, coupled with her own obsessive drive to win, resulted in severe social and psychological consequences† (Ahrens 86). Another negative consequence of childhood beauty pageants is the disturbing sexualization of young girls that steals away their treasured innocence–as if eating disorders and body image problems were not enough. Former child beauty queen Nicole Hunter confirms this theory by explaining that â€Å"dressing and acting like a woman at a young age compelled her to prematurely confront her sexuality, which in turn lowered her self-esteem† (Liberman 741). The child pageant circuit concentrates on the ideals of perfection and beauty, with an accompanying focus on sexuality. Innocent girls dressed in skimpy costumes parade and dance, remove pieces of their outfits and wink at judges. Basically, young beauty queens are taught to flirt and manipulate their early sexuality in order to win. Though frequently condemned for such eccentric and damaging practices, the child pageant industry has been gaining success and extensive popularity (Liberman 745). Additionally, reporter Richard Goldstein investigated the JonBenet Ramsey, a child beauty queen, murder case and brought to the surface both our horror at how effectively a child can be constructed as a sexual being and our guilt at the please we take in such a sight (Giroux 50). Her dynamic role in pageants was vastly examined by media after the murder. After JonBenet’s highly publicized murder, the problems of child beauty pageants, especially the degradation of young girls, are first brought to society’s attention. Although many pageant parents argue that the press unfairly focused on the connection of beauty pageants to Jon Benet’s murder, these defenders rarely address the concerns of robbing a child of her virtue by depicting young girls as â€Å"sexualized nymphets.† They have little to say about what adolescents actually gain in pageants. Those in favor of the pageants overlook how a child might see herself and her ability to form relationships with society when her feelings of self-worth is defined solely through a belief that beauty is one-dimensional and patronizing (Giroux 54-55). No five-year-old child enjoys getting her hair ripped out and teased, spending hours each day practicing exhausting dance routines, or devoting every weekend traveling to pageants rather than playing with friends. It is the beauty pageant contestant’s mother who forces them to endure these strenuous and sometimes painful rituals in order to achieve their own satisfaction. When feminist writer-performer, StaceyAnn Chin first saw Toddlers Tiaras she was â€Å"flabbergasted by the parents who were so invested in these contests they got angry if their girls showed any signs of flagging.† In regards to the infamous pageant moms, Chin states that, † the pageant reminded me a little of dog showstiny, powerless competitors trained to do as they are told, with trainers who exploit their charges to gain fame and fortune and live out some archaic dream they once had for themselves† (Chin 1). The vast majority of pageant moms deny the harmful effects beauty pageants have own their child. Pageant mothers often â€Å"neutralize† their deviant behavior of enrolling their daughter in pageants by claiming pageants help their daughter rather than hurt. Also, mothers deny their own responsibility as the accountable parent by claiming that her daughter chooses to participate in beauty pageants (Pannell 68). Every single pageant mom asked in a study about childhood beauty pageants talked about competitors winning prize money, crowns, trophies and gifts in child beauty pageants (Mosel-Talavera 81). Some mothers deceptively sign their children up for pageants to exploit their daughters financially. One pageant mother says that there is a very infamous pageant child that always wins a large sum of money, ‘There is one little girl down South – she’s the daughter of one of the biggest known photographers. In six weeks’ time she went from pageant to pageant and won like $40,000.’ In the summer of 2005, there was another child, whose mother also owns a pageant business, who won three cars at pageants (Levey 204-205). These examples clearly reveal the evils of parents exploiting their children in pageants for their own selfish rewards. In childhood beauty pageants, the pressure from parents, influence from the media, and the desire to win all lead to disastrous consequences for the participants, which will stay with them for the rest of their life. Eating disorders, body image issues, and an early loss of innocence are just a few of the consequences these precious girls will have to deal with in their lifetime. No child should have to struggle with these problems at such a young age. Although little girls dressed up in frilly dresses and tiaras may be cute, there is a fine line between a fun beauty pageant and ruining a young girls life.

William Butler Yeats and William Blake :: Poetry Literature Papers

William Butler Yeats and William Blake A study of William Butler Yeats is not complete without a study of William Blake, just as a study of Blake is greatly aided by a study of Yeats. The two poets are inexorably tied together. Yeats, aided by his study of Blake, was able to find a clearer poetic voice. Yeats had a respect for and an understanding of Blake's work that was in Yeats' time without parallel. Yeats first read Blake at the age of 15 or 16 when his father gave him Blake to read. Yeats writes in his essay "William Blake and the Imagination" that "...when one reads Blake, it is as though the spray of an inexhaustible fountain of beauty was blown into our faces (Yeats, Essays xxx)." Yeats believed Blake to be a genius and he never wavered in his opinion. It is his respect for Blake that caused him to study and emulate Blake. He tried to tie Blake closer to himself by stressing Blake's rumored Irish ancestry. He strove to understand Blake more clearly than anyone had before him, and he succeeded. As with other pursu its Yeats held nothing back. He immersed himself fully in Blake's writings. As with many of his mental pursuits he deepened his understanding of the subject by writing about it. In 1887 he wrote his essay "William Blake and the Imagination." This essay articulated his thoughts on the genius of the poet William Blake. He still however had not conceived his full vision of Blake's works. In 1889 he approached Edwin Ellis, a friend of his father's, for assistance in understanding Blake. Ellis wrote of this meeting "Very little could be given him to satisfy so large a demand, but with his eye for symbolic systems, he needed no more to enable him to perceive that here was a myth as well worth studying as any that has been offered to the world (Ellis, Vol I ix)." Thus began Yeats' and Ellis' collaboration on William Blake. This collaboration came to fruition, after four years of work, with the 1893 publication of their The Works of William Blake Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical. It has been acknowledged by many scholars that Yeats' study of Blake greatly influenced his poetic expression. This gives rise to the widely held assertion that Yeats is indebted to Blake. While I concur with this assertion, I feel that the perhaps greater debt is Blake's. William Butler Yeats and William Blake :: Poetry Literature Papers William Butler Yeats and William Blake A study of William Butler Yeats is not complete without a study of William Blake, just as a study of Blake is greatly aided by a study of Yeats. The two poets are inexorably tied together. Yeats, aided by his study of Blake, was able to find a clearer poetic voice. Yeats had a respect for and an understanding of Blake's work that was in Yeats' time without parallel. Yeats first read Blake at the age of 15 or 16 when his father gave him Blake to read. Yeats writes in his essay "William Blake and the Imagination" that "...when one reads Blake, it is as though the spray of an inexhaustible fountain of beauty was blown into our faces (Yeats, Essays xxx)." Yeats believed Blake to be a genius and he never wavered in his opinion. It is his respect for Blake that caused him to study and emulate Blake. He tried to tie Blake closer to himself by stressing Blake's rumored Irish ancestry. He strove to understand Blake more clearly than anyone had before him, and he succeeded. As with other pursu its Yeats held nothing back. He immersed himself fully in Blake's writings. As with many of his mental pursuits he deepened his understanding of the subject by writing about it. In 1887 he wrote his essay "William Blake and the Imagination." This essay articulated his thoughts on the genius of the poet William Blake. He still however had not conceived his full vision of Blake's works. In 1889 he approached Edwin Ellis, a friend of his father's, for assistance in understanding Blake. Ellis wrote of this meeting "Very little could be given him to satisfy so large a demand, but with his eye for symbolic systems, he needed no more to enable him to perceive that here was a myth as well worth studying as any that has been offered to the world (Ellis, Vol I ix)." Thus began Yeats' and Ellis' collaboration on William Blake. This collaboration came to fruition, after four years of work, with the 1893 publication of their The Works of William Blake Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical. It has been acknowledged by many scholars that Yeats' study of Blake greatly influenced his poetic expression. This gives rise to the widely held assertion that Yeats is indebted to Blake. While I concur with this assertion, I feel that the perhaps greater debt is Blake's.

Plastic Surgery in South Korea

Sociology group presentation: Plastic surgery * Plastic surgery is becoming one of the popular ways to change one’s physical appearance in South Korea. * People in Korea believe that looking good can change their lives. * 40% of the people in Korea think that they failed the interview are because they do not look beautiful. * 70% want to change their social status through plastic surgery. Reasons: * Influence of social media: Celebrities have perfect looking.This brings impact on people’ s The body modification I am going to talk about is plastic surgery. Plastic surgery is popular in today’s society, especially in South Korea. Most people do not consider themselves pretty. In a survey, 40% of the people who failed in the job interview think that they failed the interview is because they do not look pretty, and they want to change their social status from changing their appearance.And the first option they will choose is plastic surgery. Korea is a very competiti ve society. People are super competitive about their physical appearance. The social media in Korea is over exadragged, Why is Korea so competitive about appearance: in social media, the actor/actress appear to be so pretty and handsome, and they have higher social status based on how they look, so this had given a hint for people in Korea that how you look is important than what you know.This article had talked about that how high school kids think about the importance of plastic surgery. It was taken place is urban area and rural area to see the modernization’s impact on people’s idea toward plastic surgery. Media has very significant influence on people’s thoughts about their appearance. They believed that looking good is very important for employment and to succeed in life.

Short Note On Short Term Memory - 1065 Words

The Present paper will be discuss how pictures and words affect Short Term Memory through testing short term memory, the process of collecting data, and errors made during the process of testing Short Term Memory. Understanding Short Term Memory is very important. What people remember in short period of time can be the difference between life and death or success and failure. Short term memory has a limit but an exact number is unknown. long term doesn t have a limit. Working memory is the system responsible for the holding and processing of new and already-stored information from short term memory. Introduction Short term memory capacity is important because many tasks can be completed only with sufficient ability to hold information in a certain order. Short term memory is â€Å"The capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds†-Wikipedia . Memory is one of the many things that has helped humans survive since the beginning of time . Scientists have been testing the limit of STM (Short Term Memory). In an early and highly influential article, The magical number 4 in short-term memory. A reconsideration of mental storage capacity claim that people can remember about seven chunks of tasks. In response, others believe that people can only remember three to five. As ofShow MoreRelatedShort Note On Short Term Memory Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pagesuse memory techniques in order to store a given information. Most studies have suggested; students resort to using short-memory as a tool in a last minute exam/quiz study session. Short-term memory is defined as a finite amount of information that can be temporarily stored and retrieved for up to 20 seconds. Short-term memory can also hold up to nine groups of stimuli in a given information (Weiten, Stalling, Wasden, 2007). Models that have been used in the past demonstrate that short-term memoryRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Memento We Come Across A Diner Scene 891 Words   |  4 Pagespictures and notes can be problematic. In this scene Teddy says, â€Å"Lenny, you can’t trust a man’s life to your little notes and pictures. Because your notes could be unreliable.† Christopher Nolan directed Memento in 2000, which is adapted from â€Å"Memento Mori† written by Jonathan Nolan in 2000. Both Memento and â€Å"Memento Mori† tell a story about a man who uses photographs and notes to help him remember things as he searches for his wife’s murderer without the use of his long-term memory. ChristopherRead MoreChristopher Nolan s Memento : Movie Analysis903 Words   |  4 Pagesnew memories and allows him to retain only 10-15 minutes of his memories. However, Leonard is not suffering from amnesia because he can recall memories from the past, including the origins of his condition. Leonard’s wife was being raped in their home and when he tried to interfere, the assailants dealt a blow to his head and damaged a part of his brain while leaving his wife dead, assumingly. This relates to the concept of memory formation and how humans retrieve, store, and create memories. TheRead MoreEssay on Memory Project1498 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Memory Project: Application to Learning Study Habits Memory is the capability to learn, retain, store and remember information from previous experiences. Memories are accumulated from prior experiences and recollected, which can influence change of behavior or thought. This ability can assist with learning and adapting to new experiences. Memory is essential to our lives. Without a memory of the past we cannot operate in the present or think about the future. We would not be able to rememberRead MoreSuccess On Computers : An Investigation Of The Soar Study Method For Computer Based Learning956 Words   |  4 Pagesany type of notes by typing, copying, and pasting and using any type of organizational tool while the â€Å"S group used bracketed facts to create a set of complete linear notes. The SO, SOA, and SOAR groups used bracketed facts to complete a wildcat matrix. The SOA and SOAR groups also clicked on association buttons to create a list of wildcat associations†) Finally, the groups had 20 minutes to study their materia ls followed by a distractor task in order to clear their short-term memory before beingRead MoreThe Importance Of Memory1185 Words   |  5 PagesMemory plays a crucial role in our lives. Everything we know and much of what we do is because of our memory. Because of its importance, memory has constantly always fascinated researchers. Without our memory, we would have no sense of identity, no idea of who we are. Memory is comprised of all the information that is encoded, stored and can be retrieved when needed. When encoding occurs, information is being processed by the brain. There are multiple types of encoding such as structural (what wordsRead MoreMismatch Negativity Through Understanding The Expectancy Theory804 Words   |  4 Pagescan expect what notes might come next, based on previous knowledge or the rhythmic patterns. Thus, mismatch negativity occurs when we are wrong about the notes we had expected to come next. MMN is important to music psychology as it reflects a proc ess in the auditory system for predicting future sound events on the basis of the recent past, and the brains reaction when those predictions are not fulfilled. (Trainor pp 172) Echoic memory: Echoic memory is a part of our sensory memory process, and isRead MoreHow Short and Long Term Memory Work Essay894 Words   |  4 Pages Short and Long Term Memory Your brain collects and forgets thousands, if not millions of memories every day. Every time you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell something, it comes into your mind and becomes a memory. A mental note is literally taken and shipped to your â€Å"short-term memory† file in your brain. Whether or not it gets pushed to â€Å"long-term memory† depends on how often you pull the sense from your brain, because if it is used often, your brain will automatically instruct itself not toRead MoreLearning Theory Essay916 Words   |  4 Pageswhat we can comprehend with the human’s finite mind. Information comes from environmental factors but the human intellect functions in such a way that learners can create additional knowledge from among the facts they have in their minds. Please note that the Holy Spirit may also at times open a person’s understanding beyond even a reasonable Gestault-style connection of incoming knowledge and his/her existing knowledge base (this process may be mistaken as an intuitive leap). II. PrinciplesRead MoreMemory Technique Essay1159 Words   |  5 Pagesis made into a memory, how study habits can affect this by using my own example, and showcase three recommendations that psychologists have given for effective studying. These being effective note taking, the keyword technique, and practice and rehearse technique and how they have helped me become a better student. What is memory? Before talking about how to improve it, we first need to define what memory is, and talk about the bare basics of how information is stored in memory. According to