It all started with a conversation one afternoon with stylist, Lauren Eva – we were discussing how we felt about beauty pageants…in particular the children’s side of the beauty pageant scene. Our initial thoughts were that we found the whole thing just a little too exploitative & to be honest…a little creepy. But then our views of the pageant circuit have been entirely shaped by programmes such as: “Toddlers and Tiaras” or “Baby Beauty Queens” on BBC3.
We’ve all got an idea in our heads of what the typical beauty pageant scene must be like! Or have we? Are these documentaries a true representation of what it is like to be a beauty pageant queen? Are we just being very judgemental about the whole thing? Are these children being exploited? These questions & my initial thoughts of beauty pageants kept going through my head after our conversation.
So what better way to confront my views on the pageant circuit than to do a photography project on the subject!
I wanted to create a photo project that explored my vision of what a beauty pageant queen might look like – the fake tans, fake hair, fake nails, lashings of make-up, blingy jewellery, meringue dresses… and then contrast it with what they actually do look like during a pageant. It was my vision to photograph pageant queens of all ages and to create an exhibition of my photographs later this year.
My first venture into the project was at the start of April 2011 with 10-year old pageant queen, Chloe Stedman from Portsmouth…and suddenly my views on beauty queens changed…and bizarrely for the better! I may well be proven wrong by the end of my project, but Chloe & her family’s refreshing attitude & outlook on the pageant circuit certainly changed my mind. I was almost expecting a pushy mother & an over dramatic, self-obsessed little girl to turn up at my studio…but in came a completely down-to-earth & friendly family – Chloe’s mum, Alison; her grandmother, Jeanette & of course little Chloe – full of smiles, excitement about the photo shoot & a love of Miley Cyrus!
We started the shoot with Chloe’s true pageant look. I wanted her to look exactly how she would if she were competing in a pageant. Her mother, Alison, did Chloe’s hair & make-up – as she always does at any competition & Chloe wore dresses that she had competed in.
She was a complete natural in front of the camera – smiling and laughing naturally on request. We dressed her up in all of her winning sashes – of which there were quite a few! For a little girl who has only recently joined the pageant circuit, she has most certainly won the hearts of the judges – and from spending the day with her – myself & the team can certainly see why!
Then came our interpretation of what a child beauty pageant queen would look like. And our views had most certainly been very jaded by the typical American pageant queens! Stylist, Lauren Eva, sourced plenty of very large, over-sized, 80′s sequined meringue & cocktail dresses, as well as lots of sparkling jewellery from Brighton’s Pretty Eccentric (Chloe’s little eyes lit up when she saw what jewellery we were going to dress her up in!). Make-up artist, Becca Robb, took inspiration from our research into American pageant make-up & hair stylist, Kerry Hobbs, pieced together an incredible hair do from a clip in hair extension & plenty of pins!
Again, Chloe was a complete star in front of the camera. Giving us the typical fake dead-eyed-large-grin expression that you often see in pageant photographs.
As the photo shoot went on, myself & stylist, Lauren Eva interviewed Chloe & her family for an article for the next edition of Spindle Magazine. It was our way of finding out more about her, her family & their views of the pageant circuit. Much to our surprise, we found out that there was in fact a drastic difference between the American pageants that we have all seen on TV & the UK pageant circuit…thank goodness for standards! The UK pageants will not let girls wear dresses & skirts that are above the knee (in some categories the dresses must reach the floor), there are no (creepy) swimsuit categories & there is even one competition (Miss True Beauty) where girls below the age of 13 must not wear any make-up (although a little lip gloss is acceptable). And most pageants have strict age limits…so hopefully there will never ever be a chance that babies will be competing in these pageants like across the pond!
Chloe’s view on American pageants: “I think they are a bit too much…with their fakeness. I don’t think they should have it. I had an idea of what we could do – I could get a group of girls that do pageants over in England, to go over to do the American pageants, so we can show all the Americans that you don’t need to have all of that make-up and fake stuff when it’s just fun and you make friends, and you don’t always need to wear fake, because there’s no point.”
But how long will this contrast between the American & UK pageants last? I hope forever! But Chloe’s grandmother, Jeanette, believes that as the competitions become more fierce & the parents become ever more competative with one another, the American look will inevitably creep in. She has already noted that if one girl has something new…at the next pageant, all of the girls will be using it/wearing it. How long will it be for the standard of that all-American fake pageant look to become the norm? At least Chloe’s family have admitted that if that is the case, they will seriously question whether Chloe should be part of it all.
So what about the pushy parents that we see so much of on programmes like Toddlers & Tiaras? I’m sure there are plenty of them out there – and in fact Chloe’s family mentioned about one little girl very high up in the pageant scene who is sadly subject to this & doesn’t in fact want to be part of the competitions, but will cry & have a tantrum if she does not win (after being told how beautiful, talented & successful she is & that she will win!). Thankfully, Chloe’s family are nothing like these stereotypical pageant families – Chloe in fact wanted to be a pageant queen from watching these documentaries on them. Before that, her family knew nothing about the pageant circuit. So Chloe’s ambition to be part of the scene is simply being driven by herself & her family are whole heartedly supporting her. She said in one her interviews with us that, “it’s different! You get boys that play football, cricket and tennis and all that, and girls that do gymnastics and that…but this is slightly different because you get to do catwalks, be a pretty girly girl, have fun and do talent. I think it’s a good opportunity to do”.
She believes that the American pageant girls will enjoy them far more in the UK purely because of the lack of the pushy parents. “Sometimes in the American ones, their mums will say ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to have the fake stuff that makes you stand out, make you be more beautiful’…but really it doesn’t, it makes people think badly about them…about the kid, but really it isn’t the kids fault…it’s their parents”.
When I asked her what the best part of doing beauty pageants was, she replied, “Well, I like all of it, because you get to make friends, you get to do your own thing, and have fun. That’s why I like it so much.”
The article & my photographs will be appearing in issue 4 of Spindle Magazine which is on sale here – http://spindlemagazine.wazala.com/?page=product_det&id=25873
I should hopefully be attending many beauty pageants across the country & photographing beauty queens of all ages over the summer ready for my exhibition in October.
