Have Beauty Pageants Taken an Ugly Turn?

As a kid, I loved watching pageants on TV. It was a special treat to stay up late to see the contestants sashay across a well-lit stage in elegant floor-length gowns. A typical little girl, I was mesmerized by the sophistication of those leggy, well-coiffed, beauty queens.

Who knows? Maybe pageants had a bad rap even then - I was too absorbed in the perceived glamour of bathing suits and high heels to notice - but it feels like they've taken an ugly turn, lately. At least in the media.

Maybe you saw Miss Universe Australia on the Today Show defending her thin frame? At 19-years-old, she's 5'11" and just 108 pounds. She maintains that's she's healthy and well, but doctors call a body mass index less than 18 malnourished. Her BMI is 15.

On this side of the globe, Miss California is stirring up controversy, too, with semi-nude photos surfacing and her pageant-sponsored breast implants.

Shari Scott, the director of the Center for Pediatric Eating Disorders at Children's Medical Center, says she worries these stories feed the developing self images of young women and men about worth, beauty, social affirmation and status.

She suggests using these stories to talk with the beautiful little people in your life about what really makes a person attractive and valued:

"Beauty is not about how one looks on the outside, but about how one is able to communicate and utilize his or her thoughts and feelings to shine from the inside out that matters."

And come to think of it, bikinis and high heels are just silly.