Ever since I was a child the idea of children as adults has freaked me out. In fact, I wrote a fifteen page research paper about the use of children as the antagonists in horror films and why it is so frightening. I found that paper recently and put a check mark next to "reasons I spent so much money at NYU." Thanks to Mark and his "Imagining Childhood" class.
But I believe the scariest thing is the hyper sexualization of children, (mainly young girls) in tiny beauty pageants. I have ALL SORTS OF ISSUES with this, (controlling parents, feminist qualms, difficulty finding tiny veneers), but really these children look terrifying when they are made to look like little versions of Miss USA.
Luckily, someone agrees with me. Susan Anderson is a photographer working out of L.A. who captures the horror of these pageants and really has captured my visceral, stomach churning reaction in her images. She has a new show featuring this work, and if you live in LA I would support her.
Also, can we come together as a nation and decide collectively to ban these competitions instead of making them into TLC shows? TLC: What happened to you? You are a joke of a network.
(Reminder: BLOG about shows I think should be pulled off the air as crimes against humanity).
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