Perceptions of child beauty pageants and their impacts: What really lies behind the tiara?

Child beauty pageants continue to be controversial, particularly as more beauty pageant reality television programs appear. One common complaint about child pageants are that they are sexualizing the girls and lead to abuse. In this study the uses and gratification approach is used to explore why millions of individuals choose to watch these programs. Research participants reported whether they had seen the shows Toddlers & Tiaras or Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, or had seen adult pageants in general (i.e., Miss America) along with their motivational factor(s) for watching. All participants were also asked to rate different pageant perception items. This study found that female individuals are more likely to watch these programs, entertainment is a consistent motivational factor for all three programs, and there is a strong relationship between an individual’s favorable perceptions toward the programs and their decision to view the programs.