North Carolina Rep Files Bill To Regulate Child Beauty Pageants
North Carolina Representative Annie Mobley introduced a bill on April 8 to establish a legislative study committee on the “regulation of beauty pageants for youth under 13,” which includes the “use of excessive makeup.”
The bill calls for an allotment of funds to form a committee called the North Carolina Agency to Regulate Beauty Pageants for Girls Under Thirteen — comprised of five members of the House and five members of the Senate — to study the psychological effects of beauty pageants on children under 13, developing an agency to regulate them, and what criteria to impose (e.g. minimum age requirements, parental participation, and gluing false lashes to a two-year-old).
I can’t help but think that Mobley got the idea from the bill — which has yet to be passed — by watching reality shows like Little Miss Perfect and Toddlers & Tiaras. While some of the behavior that goes on within pageants is questionable, and it’s imperative to look out of the psychological welfare of young children, considering the economic climate, it seems misguided to spend government money on regulating the actions stage mothers, who will most likely not let any kind of legislation stand in the way of achieving their vicarious dreams.
The Little Miss Sunshine Bill? [News & Observer]