Monday, September 29, 2003
Confession time: I entered my daughter in the Beautiful Baby Contest at our county fair.
 Yes, it's true. There I was this past weekend, the very same person who has a Certificate in Women's Studies and who insisted on a gender neutral nursery theme, shamelessly parading my child around like a pedigreed poodle at a dog show. Worse yet, I was a lot more into it than I wanted to admit.
And folks, lemme tell ya, the whole thing was just too precious for words! There was a tiered stage and a set decorated in a jungle theme and white miniature lights. The tiny contestants were dressed to the nines, of course. Sophie wore a black velvet jumper embroidered with pink roses, a matching pink bow in her curls, white "rumba tights" (the kind with the lace ruffles on the butt) and tiny black patent leather Mary Janes. My little ham knew just how to work the judges, too: clapping, cooing, patting the other babies. Do I sound like Patsy Ramsey yet?
Despite the enormous ick factor of judging children on their appearance, it's easy to see how these things can be addictive. Afterall, who WOULDN'T want validation of the belief that their child is beautiful?
Sophie did very well and was awarded 2nd place out of 10 or 11 girl babies ages 6 to 9 months. She might have gotten 1st place had she not had a bruised face from a fall (ah, mobility!), or if I had realized that the way I was holding her exposed her skivvies throughout the contest (read: "handler error"...see photo). We'll never know, because Sophie is taking her winnings ($4!) and officially retiring from the beauty contest circuit. That kind of pressure just doesn't seem healthy for kids. There are so many potential childhood dramas and traumas that could land Sophie in therapy as an adult, I'd rather not guarantee it by becoming a Rabid Pageant Mommy who informs a tiny child that "second place isn't good enough".
# posted by Amanda at 8:26 PM |
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