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Sexualization Of Teenagers

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Sexualization of young girls has become a major issue in today's society. To start, the "importance of appearance" (Morgan) has transitioned to younger ages. Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist from Boston, has noticed a drastic change in young girls who are strongly concerned about their appearance. "I pay a lot of attention to how children refer to their ideal selves... What 11-year-old girls were wrestling with years ago, we have ramped that down to young elementary school years" (Morgan). Furthermore, TLC shows such as "Toddlers and Tiaras" and "Cheer Perfection" are "heavily edited for sensationalism," (Morgan) according to Kendrick. Both shows revolve around themes of competition, pride, and demeanor, which steals creativity, playfulness, …show more content…
First off, hairspray can be harmful to young girls. Hairspray isn't an issue for teenagers or adults, but little girls who constantly wear excessive amounts can develop growth issues. According to Travis Stork, an emergency physician and host on CBS's The Doctors, "Excessive exposure to phthalates has been linked to stunted growth and even lung cancer" ("5 reasons child pageants are bad for kids"). Also, high heels are harmful to backs and growing feet. When young girls wear high heels, most of their weight is pushed forward, causing pain in their lower back. Heels can also cause improper feet development if girls wear them on a daily basis ("5 reasons child pageants are bad for kids"). In addition, parents of beauty pageant participants have their child spray tanned or expose them to radiation by using a tanning bed. Brooke Breedwell, a former child beauty pageant star, shared that her mother forced her to tan three days a week for twenty minutes at the age of four (Hardingham-Gill). Finally, parents can put their children on unhealthy diets known as crash diets. To lose weight, children are fed foods filled with sugar to boost their energy, which causes the weight loss. Crash diets are dangerously unhealthy, and can cause eating disorders (Villines). Overall, child beauty pageants can be physically damaging to young girls' bodies and health, but emotional issues can be another detrimental affect as well ("5 reasons child pageants are bad for kids"; Hardingham-Gill;

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