Lebanese NGO Hosts Disturbing Child Pageant in Aley

As if we weren’t already sick of beauty pageants. Lebanese non-profit Youth Smile recently hosted a child beauty pageant in Aley. The Miss and Mr. Aley Junior pageant concluded with crowning an 8-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy.

One of their recent post revealed a number of young girls lined-up as they announce Miss Aley Junior, dressed in extravagant gowns, hair professionally done, and faces caked with make-up. The winner and first runner up, only 8 and 9 years old, were moved to tears when crowned. The boys, equally subject to this spectacle, were also paraded and dressed up. The crowning of Mr. Aley Junior featured a clip of the winner appearing overjoyed.

Apparently, the purpose of the pageant was NOT appearances but “showcasing the kids’ talents and how they respond to the judges’ questions”. At least that’s what the NGO responded with when faced with a critical comment regarding the nature of the competition:

Clearly unfazed by the disturbing nature of the competition, this isn’t the first time they host such a pageant. One of their videos promoting the event showed last year’s winners talking about how much the NGO helped them “work on their talents” and encouraging participation.

And we’re not sure what’s worse, the fact that this competition exists or the comments under their posts. Among the many disgusting comments of encouragement and celebration, one particularly concerning comment accused the judges of tampering with the results. It seems like people take this competition very seriously…

Child beauty pageants are particularly problematic for several reasons. Even though the NGO claims to not judge contestants based on external beauty, it encourages an unhealthy focus on appearances. These pageants also impose beauty standards on children, especially young girls, who are in their formative years.

Regardless of how much effort you put into marketing this event as a competition “focusing on their talents”, the reality proves otherwise. Watching these young participants behave and dress way beyond their years was disturbing, to say the least. You could have just hosted a talent show.

How about we just let kids be kids? We can’t believe we had to write an article like this in this day and age…

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