Pageants - Shelby Stephens

This is a visual rhetoric source I found depicting pageantry, particularly child beauty pageants. The picture is attempting to make beauty contests seem like a completely superficial, superfluous, show of material wealth and attempts to portray these girls as fake, shallow, and immoral. I chose this picture and  source because I believe it depicts the attitude most people have towards pageants and child pageants. Most people, unaware of how these pageants really are and are supposed to be, believe that child pageants are used by parents to live vicariously through their children, teach them immoral values, and start them on a path to a superficial life. This, however, is not true and is obviously an example of a source that holds views opposing to mine. It relates to my topic because it shows the common misconception that pageants are all about trying to look fake, waste money, appear overly sexy, and to become someone you are not. It brings to mind that my argument is one heavily opposed and makes me realize that the task I face is quite a daunting one. This is a recently very popular topic due to television shows like Toddlers & Tiaras and the recent Miss America pageant. Since so many people have such strong opinions and stereotypes about pageants and the girls in them, it almost makes me wonder if there is enough I can say to convince them otherwise. Social  and cultural implications of my topic are the effects of these popular pageants on children and young girls and how these girls are viewed by society, whether it be for who they are or what they look like. This source is obviously promoting an argument different from mine, and I hope to dispel stereotypes such as the materialistic and superficial stigmas associated with pageants and the girls that participate in them.

"Child Beauty Pageant." The Daily Omnivore. 28 October 2011. Web. 17 February 2013.