The world of beauty pageants is dramatic, heartbreaking and downright hateful. Villines states that “[c]hildren learn a set of unhealthy values, including the desire to defeat the competition at all costs.” (qtd. in “Beauty Pageants and Babies: It's Not Always Pretty” 6). A child should never have to experience the pressure that is put on him when he enters a competition, nor should he learn to try to tear everyone down to get what he wants. The world of pageants can change a child for the worse. Unfortunately, this causes most of these children to become sexual images at such a young age. Cartwright stated in his article that he saw photos in French Vogue of "a ten-year-old model reclining in a sea animal print wearing a gold dress across her chest, stilettos and heavy makeup." (qtd. in “Beauty Pageants for Children” 1). How can this little girl's parents allow her to look so adult and sexy when she is just a child? The answer is simple: parents benefit too. When it comes to some parents in the beauty pageant world, they are worse than the kids who enter pageants. Parents are the ones who put the most pressure on the child. Villines says, "[some parents] put their children on crash diets designed to help them gain energy and enthusiasm." (4). A child does not need to go on a diet unless he is obese. But it seems like these parents don't care, they just want their kids to win. Villines also states that “the real attraction of pageants is for parents who can gain social status, self-esteem and money when their children participate.” (2). From an outsider's perspective it's as if most beauty pageant parents look at their children as objects from which to make money and fame, then their own flesh and...... middle of paper... unfortunately they are already taking that path. The most beloved quote Cartwright stated in his article was from Doors singer Jim Morrison: "Most people love you for what you pretend to be. To keep their love, you keep pretending - performing. You end up love your fiction. It's true, we are stuck in an image, in an act." That quote sums up beauty pageants and any other theater career. The only thing is, we're talking about kids. When they grow up in the world of beauty pageants, the image they have will stay with them because they may think that's really the only way they will be loved. Works Cited Brianna. Personal interview. November 15, 2013 Cartwright, Martina. "Beauty pageants for children: what do we teach our girls?" (April 12, 2012) Villine, Zawn. “Beauty pageants and kids: It's not always cute” (Nov. 15).. 2012)