A child beauty pageant was recently held in the Klang Valley. The competition sees boys and girls of ages between 4 to 16 years old, dressed up in customised outfits, full makeup, and with fancy hairstyles, competing for the crowns.
Posh kids grab limelight
Child pageant was first proposed in 1921 as a way to increase tourism in a city, and it gained popularity in the 1960s.
Since then, the industry has expanded to hundreds of thousands of these child beauty pageants competing in cities all over the world.
The categories of the competition, which feature contestants under the age of 18, could be traditional costumes, talent, interviews, sportswear, casual wear, resort wear, evening wear, or even theme wear.
Most pageants are more glitzy, with contestants elaborately dressed up in customised outfits, full makeup, and with fancy hairstyles to present their routines on stage.
A competition was recently held in the Klang Valley, and Malaysian children of ages between 4 to 16 years old participated.
The event included several competitions, including the Kids Performing Art & Cultural Festival and Miss/Mrs Glam World Malaysia 2023. This article focuses on the children’s segment.
While most beauty pageants are only for girls, there were a few boys in attendance. We saw that there were more girls than boys in this competition.
We watched the rehearsals and finals of their respective categories for two days. We had never seen so many little crowns before, and as we took them out of their wrappings, we even tried them on our heads.
They were heavy on our heads, and they kept sliding off. It’s no surprise that hair pins are required to keep the crown in place on the head.
The children spent hours going over their routines — working on their sassy walk, posture, and dance steps, as well as memorising scripts for speeches and story-telling.
A handsome Malay boy had with him a musical instrument, while a girl threw Taekwondo kicks and punches, all under the watchful eye of their parents and personal coaches.
Many pageants are held in hotels and require contestants to stay on-site for a few days with a parent or guardian. This event took place at the Crystal Crowne in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Some parents hire pageant coaches to teach their children routines, speeches, and interviews. It’s not surprising to see a professional make-up and hair artist accompanying them to competitions.
Costumes and props are costly, and most of these participants come from families with means to provide. It is cost effective if a mother is skilled at sewing.
As there are so many children to judge on individuality, poise, talents, and confidence, hard work is undoubtedly on the jury. The process could take a day or two.
Christine Huang, Principal of Golden International Group (holding 30 international titles), served as the head of the jury for this pageant. She has also served as a judge in a number of international beauty pageants for both children and adults.
Our hands were tired from applauding the first afternoon, and everyone hit the sack the moment they returned to their hotel rooms for the night.
Most pageants strive to make each child feel like a winner. For each age group, there are queens, kings, and princesses, as well as side awards.
Aside from winning a tiara, sash, robe, or trophy, there may be study grants, sponsored gifts, especially on educational products, and even cash if the pageant is well-funded.
There were winners in this competition that we attended who will compete in Thailand, Nepal, India, and Taiwan. As a result, these children will have the opportunity to interact with their peers from other countries, and inspiring forms of artistic expression from all participants will be shared.
Despite some criticism of children participating in pageants, there have been positive comments from others. It is comparable to a competitive sport.
Many people can perform better on stage than in physical sports. A number of parents believe that their children, including their boys, can develop poise and confidence in front of a group, and that there is nothing wrong with starting early.
It’s just another extracurricular activity that instils basic life values like determination, self-confidence, sportsmanship, and leadership.
