Flirting four year-olds

Today's "let's avoid work and talk about anything else under the sun" convo was about kiddie beauty pagents, inspired of course by the recent onslaught of JonBenet murder mystery coverage. I told Katherine about this documentary that I have seen several times (I believe it was originally run on HBO). It's like a freaking train wreck -- I can't NOT watch it if it's on. It's so disturbing. I don't like horror movies but anything involving a true life freak show and I'm hooked.

Today's discussion led to what seemed to us to be an obvious question -- Why is this phenomenon solely found in America? We spend most of our day working with foreign people, teaching Americans about a foreign culture so it is only natural that our mind would wander in this direction.

My theory on the subject? We have become a culture that champions two things that the rest of the world doesn't seem to embrace quite as heartily -- mediocrity and quick-fixes. So why spend your money on your child's future education? She can be pretty and sweet and adored NOW if you pay thousands of dollars for her to be a living Barbie Doll. And maybe she'll win a scholarship!

And won't you feel better about yourself -- you, who are probably overweight, suffering from a lack of higher education (something that is still a luxury in this country rather than the federally funded RIGHT it is in other countries), working a dead-end job, old before your time -- won't you feel better about all of that if people are looking at your BEAUTIFUL CHILD, who is so much prettier than you will ever be? So what that you are practically putting a bullseye on her back, attracting pedophiles and child pornographers the world over. So what that she is not mature enough to understand that batting her eyelashes at three middle-aged male judges is setting her up for a lifetime of doing not much else. It feels good now and there isn't much to look forward to anyway.

At least if she had been born a boy in this country she could always hope to go to Yale, get straight Cs and still manage to get a great job someday.