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Sexed-up little girls sashaying down a cat-walk or stage in full makeup with teased hair and glitzy dresses isn't amusing or cute. In fact, it borders on child abuse. It doesn't matter whether or not we are "stage moms." It doesn't matter that we are only supporting our young daughter in fulfilling her dream of being a pageant princess. As parents we have a right to put our feet down and say no. If we are conscientious parents we will not allow our daughters to be objectified in this way, especially at a tender age, when their confidence and self-imagine can be irreparably damaged.

As our daughters make their way in this world, they will be bombarded with confusing images and messages from the media, their friends, and society as a whole. We must be alert to these messages and try our best to help guide them in the right direction. Allowing them to participate in beauty pageants reinforces the idea that it's okay for them to be judged based on physical appearance alone. From infancy on, our little girls are taught that if they are pretty they will be showered with compliments. Their other attributes are easily overlooked.

If an obsession with "cuteness," weren't bad enough, these days girls who haven't yet entered their double digits are transitioning from cute to "hot." This is totally inappropriate. Styles for girls younger than ten now include skimpy underwear, mini-skirts, high-heeled shoes, and tight T-shirts with snarky attitudes emblazoned across them in glittery pink. This the "girl-power," of the new millennium, and it has spawned a generation of preteen girls imprisoned by self-doubt and eating disorders. This is the Bratz generation.

These trends are evident in all their glory at beauty pageants where clown-faced sparkling fantasy girls are on parade, scrutinized beneath bright lights, and compared side by side to be ranked and rated by a panel of judges. Some of them will be dressed in costumes that would make a pedophile drool. Soon the young girls will know who is best: who deserves attention, applause, and camera flashes, and who doesn't. They will learn exactly where they stand and whether they have what it takes to measure up and please people: whether they are "hot," or not.

Learn more about this author, Gianna Ferazzi.
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