Following my recent trend of blogging about things which are actually interesting, as opposed to what I ate for breakfast, comes the issue of beauty pageants for children.

Although these do not occur in New Zealand (nor anywhere else outside of America, as far as I’m aware), they have fascinated me for quite some time. This is because they are just so STRANGE!

I’m guessing most people will have heard of JonBenet Ramsey, the little girl from Colorado who was murdered in 1996 and whose killer has still not been found. JonBenet was a regular competitor in glamorous pageants, and her death (and sexual assault) lead to rather a lot of criticism of the industry, as the mature style of costume and makeup used on very young girls was seen to be a huge temptation to pedophiles.

On doing a bit of research on pageant related message boards and forums, I discovered that one of the more common reasons parents (mostly mothers) enter their daughters in pageants is to give them confidence, and to improve their ability to be comfortable in front of an audience and in an interview situation. This sounds reasonable enough, but surely there are other ways to teach a child to be confident and articulate without piling on the makeup, fake teeth, fake hair and sequins!?

In case you weren’t aware, the photo on the right is a digitally enhanced version of the photo on the left. These kinds of photos are routinely produced to be entered in the photo competitions which accompany a lot of major pageants.

Personally, I have nothing against pageants for older girls and adults; they are old enough to make their own decisions about what they wish to participate in, and if pageantry is their chosen hobby, then good luck to them, but I think it’s slightly different with young children. If I lived in America, I would not enter my child (or baby, even!) in anything like this! On the other hand, if they, as a TEENAGER, came to me of their own accord and asked if they could enter a pageant, I would perhaps consider it.

Part of the reason I think pageants are more appropriate for teenagers than children is that by the time you’re a teenager, you are, HOPEFULLY, mature and sensible enough to differentiate between "reality" and "theatricality". They would presumably realise that "pageant-wear" is a costume, and not something appropriate for everyday life.

What’s your opinion? Have you ever participated in a pageant? Do you/would you allow your child to participate in one? Why?

When most people finish high school and start planning to attend university/college, several things spring to mind. Things like increased freedom, interaction with the opposite gender (if you attended a single-sex school, as I did), increased workload, having to develop independence, and just generally finding out more about yourself as an adult and the direction you would like your life to take.

Last night I discovered the existence of Pensacola Christian College (PCC). Situated a Pensacola, Florida, PCC is an extremely conservative Baptist college. Although it offers a large number of potential majors, it is also unaccredited. This means that it has never been "policed" to ensure that the subject matter taught is of an appropriate academic standard to allow the degrees they confer to have any real value after graduation.

Not only does PCC appear to have a questionable curriculum, it also has rules that, in all honesty, could easily have been concocted as a Landover Baptist spoof! Not only are all unmarried students under the age of 23 required to live in an on-campus residence hall, but men and women are almost entirely segregated, to the extent of separate carparks, leisure, sport and dining areas, and even elevators! While "dating" appears to be permitted, physical contact is forbidden. Although their handbook does not state exactly what constitutes "physical contact", it does go on to say that men and women may not shake hands as a greeting, so I think it’s safe to assume that all of the physical affection associated with what we might call a normal, healthy relationship, would be banned.

Along with the extremely strict regulations for interaction between the sexes, PCC also has a very rigid dress code. The most notable item here being that women are prohibited from wearing trousers or shorts on campus. Instead, they must wear a skirt or dress which falls to their knees or longer. Men are not allowed to wear jeans or t-shirts (collared shirts only) and, much to my amusement (and bafflement at how many students would actually have that particular "innuendo" in mind!), may not: allow the end of [their] belt to hang down from the belt-loops resembling a phallus.

Relationships and attire are not the only things strictly controlled by the PCC administration. Although they describe themselves as a Christian institution, this does not mean that they are open and supportive towards all "types" of Christianity. One good example of this is music. Although the college appears to have a strong Fine Arts programme, they believe that the only types of music which is suitable for listening is classical music, or traditional Christian songs. While you might consider artists such as Kristin Chenoweth or Joy Williams to be strong, and even conservative Christians, their music is banned at PCC, due to it being allegedly "Nashville type" or "new age"!?

Obviously, when rules are this strict, they must be enforced in some way. At PCC, this way is demerits. If you read the handbook (below), there is a list of the number of sample offences compared with the number of demerits they accrue. In a "regular" university, it would be reasonable to assume that the majority of students would be relatively well behaved, and would not go out of their way to break the rules and bring disciplinary procedures down upon their heads (and their academic records). By contrast, the PCC website states that approximately 33% of students graduate from the university with a completely clean record, indicating that they have not racked up more than 15 demerits per semester (if the student gets fewer than 15, they are wiped at the end of the semester). What on earth does this say about the students at Pensacola Christian College!? That they are a mob of disorderly louts? Highly unlikely. I think it is far more likely the the rules and regulations are designed to catch and penalise students for every minor wrongdoing, as opposed to making it easier for them to do the right thing to begin with.

In its defense, PCC has stated that the rules are there for a reason; to prevent students from sinning. While this may be the case, it seems that PCC is also preventing students from developing, both socially and academically, into well-rounded, socially responsible adults, who are aware of the world in which they live, and who are capable of deciding for themselves what they believe and why they believe it, as opposed to blindly following whatever rules and doctrine are laid down in front of them, for fear of displeasing the college administration, or worse, God.

All these things considered, one has to wonder, why would anybody want to attend a university which is not accredited, has draconian rules for controlling the students, and, in every way possibly, appears to stunt the social and emotional growth of everybody who attends. Presumably the students who elect to go there are 18 years old, legally adults and do not have parents who drag them onto campus by their hair?!

If you are wondering where I found the information I have talked about in this blog, here are some links (some are PDF files):

- Information regarding the dress code and campus rules
- Official Handbook for 2001-2002
- Official Pensacola Christian College website

PLEASE leave me a comment, regardless of which side of the fence you are on, but also be reminded that although you may use the Reply feature to respond to any comment, abuse and spam will not be tolerated.

Although I’m currently in my last year of a Sociology degree, I have recently realised that I wish I’d studied education/theatre instead. It’s the basis of all my hobbies, and something I can see myself being very happy doing! 

To cut a long story short, I emailed the directors of two children’s theatre schools asking if there were any voluntary opportunities within their organisations, in order for me to decide whether this really is something I would like to study once I graduate from uni this year.

Yesterday I spoke to the woman who runs one of these organisations on the phone and she seems very friendly and keen to have me poke my nose into her organisation, lol! 

Surprisingly, she also said that they do a production every September (Term 3), with rehearsals starting in the middle of Term 2 (May/June) and because this is much a big undertaking, she usually employs a university student as her assistant. She did say that she’d usually look for somebody who was majoring in theatre, but that it was interesting, and lucky that my email seems to have come at exactly the right time!

I’m going to meet her and observe two of her classes in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we get on all right and I’m able to get some good experience and, if I’m extremely lucky, a job there!

I’m still waiting to hear back from the other one I emailed, but I don’t mind if I never do, since I think one group is probably the most I can handle before my brain becomes completely overloaded! 

What kind of person are you? Do you wait for opportunities to come to you, or do you go looking for them first?