Satire (Satirical) Essay: Toddlers & Tiaras
English 2 Honors,
24 September 2012
The Very Non-Sexual Toddler & the Irresistible Must-Have Tiara In early-January of 2009, a new phenomenon emerged in television history, Toddlers & Tiaras. Toddlers & Tiaras documents the innocent lives of children from the ages of two through ten, and maybe younger, in the glitz world of child pageantry. The reality show showcases three pageant families per episode and each episode is around 46 minutes, without commercial breaks. Toddler & Tiaras has become a raging success, having five seasons (84 episodes), and giving a pageant family their own spin-off series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Many people see this reality show as being controversial for its “sexualization” of these young children, the portrayal of the children’s parents, and the means in which the parent and child take in order to win the tiara. Many critics and viewers see this show as controversial for its “sexualization” of young children. Most pageant moms dress their children with opulent, alluring, and elaborate dresses and outfit that can be seen as nothing, but innocent. Controversy arose when Wendy Dickey, a pageant mom, dressed her three year old in a prostitute costume; she argued that it was nothing but a comedic costume. Well at least she didn't put her daughter out on the streets with just fishnets and hooker boots. Four-year old Destiny took the pageant stage dressed in Sandy’s “cool” leather jacket (from the movie Grease), but the costume wasn’t complete without a prop cigarette; the judges were outraged of the fact that she had a fake cigarette, however, she won the pageant competition that day, at least it wasn’t a real cigarette, not that would have been inappropriate. Maddy Jackson, now five, made headlines after appearing in TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras, wearing a Dolly Parton costume; people claimed that her mother was sexualizing her daughter by making her wear a long opulent pink gown, a white wig, and fake breasts. Even
24 September 2012
The Very Non-Sexual Toddler & the Irresistible Must-Have Tiara In early-January of 2009, a new phenomenon emerged in television history, Toddlers & Tiaras. Toddlers & Tiaras documents the innocent lives of children from the ages of two through ten, and maybe younger, in the glitz world of child pageantry. The reality show showcases three pageant families per episode and each episode is around 46 minutes, without commercial breaks. Toddler & Tiaras has become a raging success, having five seasons (84 episodes), and giving a pageant family their own spin-off series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Many people see this reality show as being controversial for its “sexualization” of these young children, the portrayal of the children’s parents, and the means in which the parent and child take in order to win the tiara. Many critics and viewers see this show as controversial for its “sexualization” of young children. Most pageant moms dress their children with opulent, alluring, and elaborate dresses and outfit that can be seen as nothing, but innocent. Controversy arose when Wendy Dickey, a pageant mom, dressed her three year old in a prostitute costume; she argued that it was nothing but a comedic costume. Well at least she didn't put her daughter out on the streets with just fishnets and hooker boots. Four-year old Destiny took the pageant stage dressed in Sandy’s “cool” leather jacket (from the movie Grease), but the costume wasn’t complete without a prop cigarette; the judges were outraged of the fact that she had a fake cigarette, however, she won the pageant competition that day, at least it wasn’t a real cigarette, not that would have been inappropriate. Maddy Jackson, now five, made headlines after appearing in TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras, wearing a Dolly Parton costume; people claimed that her mother was sexualizing her daughter by making her wear a long opulent pink gown, a white wig, and fake breasts. Even