The tension has been building for months — the online protests started in April, and then there were the rallies in May. Not to mention the Facebook threats and numerous complaints to public officials. Despite all the brouhaha, an “American-style” child beauty pageant sponsored by Texas-based Universal Royalty took place over the weekend in Melbourne, [...]
Wednesdays at 10 pm are really must-see-TV for me. Thanks to my DVR I can watch TLC’s tried and true Toddlers & Tiaras and Lifetime’s newcomer, Dance Moms. I’ve long said that in many ways competitive dance and child beauty pageants have a lot in common. Imagine if JonBenét had been a competitive dancer and [...]
Many of my blog posts fall into one of the following categories: beauty pageants, child beauty pageants, and competitive children. Today’s post features updates on some of my most popular stories in each of these areas. 1) Botox Mom (aka Kerry Campbell/Sheena Upton)- It’s been reported that Botox Mom (who never actually used Botox it [...]
It’s been a big week in beauty pageants, especially with the Miss USA Pageant and the return of Toddlers & Tiaras. Last week’s TLC hit featured a “showdown” between two of the most well-known queens featured on the show– Eden Wood and MaKenzie– and this week’s featured a Pentecostal, praying pageant mom and a pushy, [...]
My husband and I moved into our first home. Very exciting, but moving is such a drag– and it kept me away from blogging. But I’m back now, with lots to say! Also two weeks ago today, on May 24th, Australian child beauty pageant opponents, and some supporters, held rallies across the country. These protests [...]
Two of the activities I spent a lot of time studying have been receiving a lot of attention of late– child beauty pageants and Kumon afterschool learning centers. Last week The New York Times ran an article on Junior Kumon, a program designed to teach preschool-aged kids how to read and do math. “Fast-tracking to [...]
Poor Britney Campbell is back in the news. I wrote about Britney in March after her story appeared in The Sun, detailing her Botox injections and virgin waxes. Yesterday morning Britney and her mom, Kerry, appeared on Good Morning America to “defend” themselves and talk about wrinkles and waxings. The somewhat-horrifying interview/video speaks for itself. [...]
This piece originally appeared on The Huffington Post on May 10, 2011. The Australian press and public have reacted strongly to plans to hold an “American-style” child beauty pageant in Australia this summer. Since I wrote a summary and a response to the “Australians Against Child Beauty Pageants” situation, the media attention has increased. Last [...]
In response to yesterday’s post on child beauty pageants in Australia (or not) I received a variety of thoughtful comments. One of them was from The Family Factor who wrote, So what happens to the girls’ views of the audience when they realize the[y] did not cut it? The idea that outward appearance is what [...]
Over the weekend I was contacted by the group Australians Against Child Beauty Pageants. I have been reading about their protests of a child beauty pageant that will be held in Melbourne in July for a few weeks now. Basically a US pageant system, Universal Royalty (which I write a bit more about below), is [...]
