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Poetry and snark blogger who also has a creative side (who knew?)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Maybe I'm Not Such a Bad Mom After All...









Do these photos make you feel sick? They should. These are photos of an 8 year-old girl receiving Botox injections. This girl does not have a medical condition necessitating these injections. She is getting them, courtesy of her mother, to remove wrinkles from her face to make her more competitive for a beauty pageant! I'll repeat that. An 8 year-old is getting injections of Botox to remove wrinkles for a beauty pageant. In my opinion, this is CHILD ABUSE.

Kerry Campbell, the California mother in question, claims that she got the idea to give her daughter, Britney, the Botox injections from other pageant mothers. Apparently, it is not an uncommon practice in the pageant circuit, as it removes lines from around the child's mouth when she smiles. Is this sick or what?!! It used to be that double sided tape to hold up swimsuits and Vaseline on the teeth to keep you smiling were the little secrets behind the scenes of pageantry. Now, moms are whipping out needles and injecting toxins into their little princesses to wipe out any traces of naturalness. Ms. Campbell, a part-time beautician, defends her practice by saying that she also gives these injections to herself and that Britney asks for them. I can just imagine how that interactions goes...

Mom: "Britney, do you want the Botox to make you beautiful so you can win a trophy at the pageant or do you want to be a baby and have ugly wrinkles and lose?"
Britney: "But Mommy, it hurts!"
Mom: "Just for a second. Look! Mommy will do it too! Then we'll have ice cream and vomit it up together! And I'll buy you a pretty new pageant gown! Now do you want the Botox like a big girl or are you an ugly loser?"
Britney: "I want it."

In addition to the Botox injections, Ms. Campbell has also waxed Britney's legs in case any "fluffy hair" starts to appear. Horrors! Even Britney stated that she did not want to do this again. We'll have to see what Mom says about that. As Ms. Campbell states, the pageant world is tough, and the "kids are harsh."

I don't know what it is about pageant parents that makes them want to turn their daughters from normal little girls into sexualized objects to be judged and rated and pranced around like show ponies. From the heavy make-up to the overdone hair to the overly mature sashaying to the tantalizing costumes, these pageants are a pedophile's dream come true. If a grown woman decides to subject herself to the harsh judgments and insane competition of these pageants, that's her business. But what little girl has the option of defying or even disappointing her parents by refusing to participate?

How can a child possibly develop a normal sense of self-esteem and body acceptance when she has been subjected to this bizarre ritual for years? People like Kerry Campbell clearly show that parents can't be counted on to stop themselves from going "too far" to win these pageants, and it seems that pageant judges either encourage or turn a blind eye to the abuses behind the scenes. It's time that someone from outside this cult of pageantry puts a stop to it.



View the video of Britney and her mom

12 comments:

  1. I think Child Services should put her into protective custody and lock that so called mother up.

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  2. From what I have seen and heard on TV, something will be done about this form of child abuse.
    It's SICK!

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  3. That mother has rocks in her head. The whole idea is sickening.

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  4. It should be illegal to give Botox to children. (See? I agree with you about something.) It's a drug. Does Britney's mom think her daughter should have heroin if she asks for it?

    Actually, I think the whole idea of beauty pageants, even for adults, is disgusting, turning people into objects.

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  5. Incidentally, "Botox" is a trade name that is short for "botulinum toxin." That's toxin, as in toxic. What mother would give her daughter something toxic without a medical reason?

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  6. That's just SICK!!! WTF is the matter with people?

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  7. It IS child abuse and I highly suspect that the conversation you played out on this blog comes eerily close to the actual conversation she had with her daughter.

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  8. I believe Child Services did step in and removed the daughter, conditionally and temporarily, from that domestic environment.

    We are an 'objectifying' society, therefore, a discarding one, also. The young and the old are not same under our present societal mindset.

    Wake up! So sad.

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  9. That just makes me sick!! What the hell is wrong with that woman?!?! If that's what the it takes to be in that crazy world called "beauty pageants" I would pulled my kid out. I wouldn't have cared if I woulda had to do it with her kicking and screaming.

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  10. I heard today that they've determined she actually made this stuff up for attention. That is even more sick!!! So, you took needles and poked your daughters face JUST so you could get on the news?! Thankfully, people are pressing charges. It seems justice will be served. :o)

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  11. Hey Miss Lola- You got an award over at my place!

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