Thursday, June 30, 2011
Toddlers and Tiaras
This is the title of the show on TLC whose ad I happen to watch and it left me shocked. The ads show girls may be 2-3 years old in full make up and throwing tantrums like a woman in her early 20s. The makeup itself was too much for me to handle but the attitude captured on camera completely shook me. What is this show about?? Aren't girls being objectified enough already as soon as they hit puberty that someone had to go and extend it to these li'l girls? I remember being dressed up by my aunts in a saree and the make up of kajal and an occasional lipstick once every year during summer vacation. It was entertainment for them and an opportunity for me to look like my mom and one of them. But apart from that if my dad saw me ever saw me even with a bindi (which he now considers is must as I'm not just married but a grown up woman) he would say that it wasn't for li'l girls. Li'l girls shouldn' spoil their skin by applying creams and such. And here I see that the li'l girls whose almost every act must look adorable and cute and funny to us grown ups are behaving just like us. Even if the show is scripted I'm aghast that the parents of these girls are ready to sell their daughters' sweet innocence for some fame and money (even if it were a million.) I can't fathom how desperate the parents must be to be a part of this.
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2 comments:
I know! Even the dance competition for toddlers back home disturb me as 2-3 year olds wear bikini tops and dance to sheela ki javani! I am old fashioned i guess and that scares me too...am i a misfit in this world of glamor and show biz?
I guess not. A talent show is a way of encouraging the child to loose public inhibition, overcome stage fear and nurture talent. But making them walk a ramp at 3 years of age?!? From personal experience I know that when we enter our teens we're quite confused about our looks and personality and wish that we could look, behave and live like one of the celebrities we admire. Although after a while I realised that it was not a good attitude I'd developed. No one could've convinced that to me when I was going through the phase. But training kids to pick up that attitude? What'll they feel about themselves when they cross 25. Don't tell me botox will be the norm for an 18 year old when my daughter is around that age. I won't be able to tolerate or understand her
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