Googling just the search term “beauty pageants coming up” 1,020,000 results will appear in 0.34 seconds. Throughout history, beauty pageants have been held for both women and men. By giving young people a bleached white smile and an expensive outfit to look up to, people around the world are presented with a false sense of what is important. The fact that this is acceptable in society is outrageous because it is teaching people to hate how they look and are based on the fact that they don’t resemble Miss America.

Although beauty pageants have become more diverse, the people that participate still give people a false sense of what should be considered beautiful. Everyone is different; the cliché rings true and to giving a crown to one girl because her external merits are judged as better than others is not right. Who is anyone to judge who is better fit to be crowned a winner? The answer is no one but we are all judges. Looking at someone, at first all you take in is there looks. And, sadly, if what their external image presents does not please, one may disregard or judge that person. Thinking that this is moral by any standards is wrong and needs to be brought to attention. By giving society the power to tell people how they should feel about things they cannot necessarily change is unforgiveable and needs to be altered. The age old saying is correct; don’t judge a book by its cover.

Beauty pageants are based of looks despite the inclusion of a talent portion. How one appears, what one wears and how one presents their self are the main bases of the pageants. Personal accomplishments, intellect and personality are not as important as how they are seen by the public. This is superficial is sets up all people for failure. Nobody can reach the sense of perfection that is set. The bar will never be reached. So, in a way, beauty pageants and other things that judge people on how close they get to the goal of perfection are directly linked to unhappiness. People may never be comfortable in their own skin because they are not a mirror image of a model in a magazine or the winner of a pageant and this also allows for people to be judged harshly in the everyday world as well. Glorifying a person’s external looks is like eating an ice cream because it is a pleasing color instead or how it actually tastes. People overlook these standards of beauty every day and combat society’s unreachable standards but that does not pardon what is happening.This may never change, but beauty pageants are not helping it go away or become less prevalent.

These ideas may be combatted with the argument that beauty pageants boost self-esteem. Yes, perhaps the boy or girl that wins will feel better about how the look because they beat other people but is that worth degrading the other participants. Along with that, the winner is now given the false idea that their beauty may be all they possess. The only thing they can offer is their looks because they have been told they are exemplary compared to others and this, mirroring the losers of the pageant, is just as degrading.

Although it may seem like a topic that cannot be battled against, there are things everyone can do to help put a stop to the injustice. That does not have to be on a huge public scale, but simply within oneself. Combat society’s pressure by changing the way one look at others and oneself. Having role models that embody the kind of person one wants to be, have goals that inspire, and are not just physically attractive. When meeting someone, don’t let the outside impact the judgments you make. Know not only to perceive but to look beyond the surface, to what is actually important.