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Although
Honey Boo Boo has captured the imagination of the American audience with her boisterous personality, she isn't the only little girl on the beauty pageant circuit. Thousands of children compete each year, and a new study published in the
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry takes a critical look at these pageants.
Martina M. Cartwright, adjunct professor at the
University of Arizona and a registered dietitian, suggests that these high-glitz child pageants are often
more about the parents and their needs and have little to do with the children at all. The study also suggests that participating in these events can actually be harmful to children's health and self-esteem.These pageants have been popularized by
The Learning Channel's reality show
Toddlers and Tiaras and its spin-off,
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. As part of her research, Cartwright attended two live tapings of
Toddlers and Tiaras. Cartwright claims that some pageant parents exhibit "princess by proxy," a unique form of "achievement by proxy distortion."
Adults with this condition are driven primarily by the social or financial gains earned by their child's accomplishments, regardless of risk involved for the child.The glitz pageant is a $5 billion dollar industry in America, which was first introduced to many through the death of 5-year-old beauty queen Jon-Benet Ramsey in 1995. Cartwright focused her research on these types of pageants, where contestants wear heavy makeup and ornate costumes, sometimes costing more than $1,500. Cartwright estimates that along with entry fees, photo and other expenses such as wigs, fake tans and artificial teeth known as flippers, the average cost of participating in a single contest runs between $3,000 and $5,000.
Glitz pageants have prizes that include cash awards, crowns, trips, puppies and sometimes even "bit parts" in movies. These prizes and the potential for fame and fortune may contribute to "achievement by proxy distortion" in parents, according to Cartwright.
Comment: And so we see a very direct result of the psychopathologisation of society. Through the spread of psychopathic ideology, people become "ponerized", i.e., they develop psychopathic traits without being clinical psychopaths themselves. This pathology is then spread to the next generation, and on it goes, unto the eventual collapse and destruction of human society.
Stop supporting psychopaths in power and stop accepting and adopting psychopathic ideals.