Little Miss Perfect

Recently I’ve gotten into the habit of watching a show called Little Miss Perfect, which airs on the Women’s Entertainment channel. It available on my cable’s on demand, and whenever I’m bored/don’t feel like doing work, I always watch an episode. The concept of the show is that every episode follows two little girls (usually under the age of 12) and their parents as they prepare for the Little Miss Perfect pageant in their respective cities. The pageant is just like every other glamour pageant for young girls—mildly disturbing and creepy, while at the same time so intriguing that you can’t take your eyes off the screen. All of the discussion in class yesterday about scopophilia and voyeurism got me thinking about how even at a very young age it is clear that our media, as well as our society, put females in the category of objects, and more importantly, objects to be looked at. The children on the show put on so many pounds of make-up, self-tanner, fake hair, and sparkly dresses that by the end of the process they look closer to 25 years old as opposed to 8 or 9. I think this idea goes along with other images that can be seen throughout the media in print ads, commercials, and television shows, where it’s not only the idea of looking at women as simple beautiful objects to stare at, but there is also great importance placed on the youthfulness of these women. The younger and more child-like the girl, the more beautiful she is considered, and in turn the more she is objectified.