I read an article from the website called The Sunday Times. The title was “The child beauty pageant-queens who grew up.” This article is about two five year old beauty-queens. One’s name is Asia who is from Louisiana, and her arch rival Brooke who is from Tennessee. Both girls who competed in the Southern Charm pageant held in Atlanta, Georgia. The reported made a documentary of these two girls and met up with them thirteen years after the Southern Charm pageant to see how their lives have changed.
Both girls were used to the same routines done every day before pageants. They competed in talent (singing and dancing), beauty, swimwear, western wear, and many other costume changes. Layers of makeup were worn, fake eyelashes, spray tans, glue on teeth, tons of hair spray, and anything else that will make them fit the Barbie doll image. Little did these girls know that with their skimpy uniforms and layers of makeup, people were referring to them as “mini-hookers” and many other names. Hours of practice was required to make sure they had the perfect dance routine and were able to hit every note correctly in the song they were performing, which ended up being sexually suggestive adult songs.
Brooke already won seventy-five titles and over $10,000 at the age of five. Her daily training schedule was compared to that of an Olympic athlete. Her mom spent tens of thousands of dollars on outfits and sequences, and would drive Brooke to Nashville twice a week for singing lessons, which ended up being a four hour trip. Brooke’s mother stated that “I want her to look like a Barbie doll—she is a Barbie doll.” When Brooke lost her first three teeth, during pageant, her mother glued on some false teeth to keep her daughter’s image the same. Once the reporter meant again with Brooke, she stated that she lost interest in pageants at the age of eight. She no longer has her determination and was burnt out. She said that her mother used to bribe her during each competition to keep going. She was in her final year of high school and was a sporty girl who rarely wore makeup. Brooke was mature and self-contained; she didn’t have any problems fitting in with the social life at school. Brooke states “I got tired of pageants and wanted to move on and do adult things. Change is good,” she said. “The pageants helped me . . . gave me confidence, helped me focus.”
Asia also spent most of her time rehearsing for her moments on stage. The reported filmed Asia pouting in her mother’s car because she was tired practicing her routine. Her father says “We didn’t think we would get addicted, but we did.” This family admits that they do these pageants for money. They hope that they pick Asia over any other girl because they are going for the prize of a car. Her grandma often wore a t-shirt that said “I’m Asia’s grandmother.” She always talked highly about her granddaughter and was very interested about the prizes she brought home just like the rest of the family. The reporter met up with Asia when she was seventeen years old. During that time she was preparing for the Darling Dolls of America pageant, with the first place prize being $10,000. She has continued with her pageants and has won eight titles in the past two years. Asia jokingly told the reporter that “Some heads are just meant for crowns.” In the article it states that “she disputes any notion that a lifetime of pageants has harmed her. It’s cute when little kids tackle those adult songs. And I regularly teach pageant techniques to young neighborhood girls.”
With similar childhood between Brooke and Asia, their future plans are opposite. Brooke wants to get marriage, but no kids. She says she doesn’t like kids very much but may change her mind someday. It is possible that her exposure to competition against five-year-old peers has made her cynical about small children. Asia says that she want to be an x-ray technician and can’t wait to get married and have children, maybe five or six. The reporter who followed these girls states that “the two shocking little Dolly Partons whom I had filmed all those years ago had both become poised, decent and disciplined young women. Who knows? Perhaps some of that is down to the beauty pageants. They certainly think so.”
Brittany Krause—First Post
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