TLC has a reality series that I find fascinating. It is called Toddlers and Tiaras and exposes the over-the-top world of pageantry. Before watching this show I had no idea that children's beauty pageants were so outrageous. Girls and boys as young as a month old are paraded across the stage to be rated by a panel of lame judges in categories such as fun wear, talent and beauty. The amount of money dolled out by pageant parents is absolutely obscene. Thousands of dollars are spent on dresses, wigs and various costumes.
What really gets my attention is the pressure placed on these youngsters to place high and win a big crown. Children who are barely out of diapers are subjected to spray tans, false eyelashes and acrylic fingernails. Wigs and hai! r extensions are attached and makeup slathered on by parents or stylists. Pretty soon the beautiful fresh-faced child is replaced with a garish mini adult in full regalia of sequins and spangles.
The talent portion of the pageant is often the most unsettling. It is not uncommon to see a toddler dancing seductively in the skimpiest of outfits, again made up to resemble a 20-year-old woman, while her mother shrieks “sparkle baby” from the audience.
I was thrilled when my satellite service from bestchoiceTV.com added Toddlers and Tiaras to its free on demand programming. Even though I find the show disturbing I can't seem to look away.
