Marguerite
Active Member
Talk about coincidence - the news on Aussie morning TV is about a pageant in Melbourne which is for 0 to 13, boys too allegedly, which they have to do legally or be in trouble with our anti-discrimination laws (except they're calling the competition "Little MISS Bayside" on the news). The news said there's a swimsuit section.
http://www.littlemissbayside.com.au/page2.php
Since they got mentioned on the news today, their site hit counter is going to go crazy...
There are loud calls for such competitions to be banned in Australia - it's OK to have a competition based on talent, but to JUDGE kids based solely on appearance, is known to cause problems with self-esteem; cause eating disorders; cause body image issues. Not to mention the early sexualisation of children. That is according to some well-recognised psychologists who have been very vocal today about this. One bloke, Michael Car-Gregg, is often called upon for a professional statement from the field of child psychology. He was asked how he feels about this sort of competition in Australia. "I feel about this the same way I feel about dwarf-throwing competitions," he said. "We should have moved beyond such lack of sophistication and lack of compassion."
So there you go.
Nobody is safe!
Marg
http://www.littlemissbayside.com.au/page2.php
Since they got mentioned on the news today, their site hit counter is going to go crazy...
There are loud calls for such competitions to be banned in Australia - it's OK to have a competition based on talent, but to JUDGE kids based solely on appearance, is known to cause problems with self-esteem; cause eating disorders; cause body image issues. Not to mention the early sexualisation of children. That is according to some well-recognised psychologists who have been very vocal today about this. One bloke, Michael Car-Gregg, is often called upon for a professional statement from the field of child psychology. He was asked how he feels about this sort of competition in Australia. "I feel about this the same way I feel about dwarf-throwing competitions," he said. "We should have moved beyond such lack of sophistication and lack of compassion."
So there you go.
Nobody is safe!
Marg