Looks like TLC is getting super-freaky. The network recently announced plans to launch Toddlers and Tiaras, a new series that goes behind the scenes of the child beauty pageant circuit. Says Howard Lee, Vice President of Production for TLC, "The appeal and success of Little Miss Sunshine illustrates that this competitive world really exists. These children and their parents pour so much energy into wanting to win — and it’s fascinating to watch.”
It’s also disgusting to watch. A while back, I caught Vh1’s similarly themed doc Little Beauties, in which a group of moms jumpstarted their young daughters’ body-image issues by making them wear "flippers"—fake teeth to hide the gaps that normal girls have from losing their baby teeth—and encouraging them to go on stage and bat their eyelashes at adult male judges. Toddlers and Tiaras should offer similar horrors; according to a TLC press release, the show will be "jam-packed with stage moms and dads, hair extensions, spray tanning, makeup and glitter."
But who deserves more scrutiny here? The parents of these tiny pageant contestants, or a network that agrees to give them the national spotlight? Perhaps the main reason I felt nauseous watching Little Beauties was because the doc never seemed acknowledge that these pageants are so…wrong. Plus, how can Lee point to Little Miss Sunshine as an inspiration for the new TLC program when the movie implies that such beauty pageants are, you know, essentially T&A shows starring unknowing, innocent five-year-olds?
Am I missing something here, PopWatchers? Will any of you be watching Toddlers and Tiaras when it premieres in late January? And if so, why?
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TLC is citing the success of a 2006 indie movie about children’s pagents as a reason to produce Toddlers and Tiaras? Way to stay timely, TLC! No – this show is about parading these pathetic train wreck parents out into the spotlight for the rest of us to laugh at. Meanwhile, the children lose six ways from Sunday.
HELL TO THE NO!
I love TLC… probably won’t watch it though. I’ll stick to the Gosselins and the Roloff’s
cause nobody has learned from Jean Benet Ramsey
Didn’t they just have a special on pageant girls and how their lives were affected by their pushy parents? I didn’t see it, just the commercial, but I do distinctively recall a clip of a teenage girl saying, “She made me do it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do” in reference to her mother. Why, now, would they run a show like this??? It’s just encouraging this terrible parenting to continue.
I was a “pageant brat” from ages 5-7, but nothing higher than a state level and certainly NOT to the extreme that things are taken nowadays (read: my two-year-old will NEVER be in pageant or “scholarship contest”). What’s funny re the “flippers” comment – I remember the girl who won Miss Photogenic in my age group for the Sunflower Miss IL/MO pageant, Heather Storey – a very pretty, 7-year-old girl with light blonde hair and a cute smile. The picture that won was of her looking over her shoulder and smiling – WITH HER TWO FRONT TEETH MISSING. The judges turned into a pile of mush, and I remember overhearing that half of it was because of her missing teeth. Take that, TLC!
There’s been a few documentaries recently. My husband and I quote lines from some of them. Like the little girl who was taught to twirl appropriately by the words 1…2…3…PIZZAS! (arms UP like you’re serving pies.)
This show is disgusting, and I won’t be tuning in. But it’s no more or less despicable than the trash they show on VH1 or MTV. It’s just another sad statement on American culture.
I really don’t know what’s worse – these idiot, child-abusing parents, these idiot networks, or these idiot people who watch these shows. This really is nothing short of child abuse, and borderline pedophilia (there’s tons of sickos getting their jollies watching this kind of stuff). It all just boggles the mind
TLC’s defintiely getting the wrong idea here. The reason we watch the Roloffs is because they’re an interesting family who do face challenges. The reason we watch the Gosselins is because they’re adorable and interesting and face challenges.
We do not want to watch more babies, even more twins and sextuplets, and I had hoped that they wouldn’t turn this into a regular television show but I’m wrong. I fear that a show like this could only encourage pageants. I hope that it doesn’t.
My reaction:
EW! Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew yuck ew ew ew ew gross gross gross gross gross are you friggin kidding me ewwwwwwwwww …
Maybe TLC is going to just show things, like it does on shows like Jon and Kate plus 8 and Little People, Big World? The good the bad and the ugly. Just sayin’
Got to love child beauty pageants. There’s nothing more precious than watching pageant mothers trying to live out their fantasies through their daughters or teaching them that being pretty = success.
*dry heave*
Does TLC know who is going to watch this series? Please cancel it.
Tasteless TLC!
I cannot for the life of me understand why any parent would want to subject her child to this kind of abuse. It’s like lambs to the slaughter with little girls learning important life lessons like “you’re only as good as you look”—nice going, Mommies!
TLC’s programming has really been going downhill these last few years. The Ruloffs were OK for a season or two, now it just seems so staged. The Gosselin family with all of those kids is just plain phoney. This seems to be right up their alley! They should change their call letters to TTC, “totally trash channel” that’s all they show anymore.
Creepy. Shades of Jon Bennet Ramsey creepy.
Unless they are teenagers and above, girls in make-up and skimpy outfits just reaks of child porn. These parents are crazy!
These parents are guilty of child abuse and my guess suffering from some sort of mental illness. Who would want to dress their little girl up like a $2 hooker? And also knowing that there will be all sorts of pedophiles watching the show while ________________ off.
You’d think they would have learned something from the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey. Denying children’s inherent beauty and substituting premature sexuality (“bat their eyelashes at the male judges”) is just…criminal. To me.
Disgusting. How the hell can they justify, much less greenlight, such abuse?
My question is how is that stuff not pedophilia??? It’s competely disgusting and just reading about it made me throw up a little in my mouth.
You shouldn’t pass judgement on something you have no clue on what you are talking about. Everyone doesn’t do the fake stuff. Why don’t you just watch the show and see.
I think it is great! To quote Dr. Phil….”Little girls competing in beauty pageants is as natural as little boys playing Little League baseball.” Yes, some moms do take it to the extreme, but when produced correctly, pageants for children are a wonderful hobby.
I have 3 kids, 2 boys and 1 girl. My 2 boys do soccer, baseball, and football. My girl does competition cheerleading and pageants. These are the things that my kids have picked out for them. I did softball and my husband did dirt bike racing as kids. All my kids are principal list kids, are well manner, and have faith in themselves. This is from the way they are raised and the things that they do. Pageants for my daughter, have given her high self esteem, and at 10, she knows beauty can not only be on the outside, but the inside as well. And in the end of the day, people will remember for the beauty she has on the inside. What some of y’al are teaching your kids is to pre-judge something, before you really know anything about it. For those that have done pageants, I think if you will look back on it, it was more your mother or father that made it a horrible experience for you. Not the pageant itself. Because if you ask me out of everything we do, baseball would be the worse
I am a twelve years old and they are not teaching them inner beauty, just outer. And I think that the false teath, pray on tan, loads of makup is discusting… who would watch this?
Disgusting! Pathetic parents. It is the over sexualization of little girls. Everyone who agrees should email or call TLC to let them know. It promotes disgusting ethics. If I had a ton of money, I would sue them!
First of all these pageants or so called beauty pageants are not what you think. My daughter has done them since she was 4. The two pageants that she does National American Miss, and American Coed you are not allowed to wear makeup. You are not allowed to have anything fake you are all natural and if you are not you are asked to leave. My daughter use to be so shy and now that she has done this she can give speeches to high scholars’ on autism. This has tout her to be a giving person to help other by volunteering, and to be a advocate to kids her own age. Before you bash pageants know the facts. I will tell you that Glitz pageants are the ones johnbana was affiliated with. Check out the natural pageants and then let’s talk.