Little girls are increasingly aware of spa services and other "adult" beauty treatments, from Botox to breast implants. The question is, at what point does this interest in beauty become pernicious? Kids have always wanted nail polish and lipstick, and my dad even remembers asking his big sister to put lemon juice in his hair so he could be "blonder" like her when he was tiny, but recent reports Read more

We're excited to present this thought-provoking story from Allure: Protestors of an upcoming Melbourne child beauty pageant have taken to the streets of Australia with signs reading: "Affection Not Perfection" and "Babies Not Barbies." They've asked that the government step in and apply an age restriction for the event, which will be run by the American-based Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant Read more

Recently, I saw this terrible article about a mom who is supposedly injecting her 8-year-old with Botox and giving her "virgin" waxes. Internet denizens are up in arms about it, understandably, and the story is showing up all over the place. Before we all call the Child Welfare Office, though, there are several things about this story that don't seem quite right. I did a little research, so to Read more

What mother would encourage her kid to have split personalities? Stacy Berg. The pageant mom err, self-proclaimed assistant and slave to her 10-year-old explained (with a straight face) that the girl is Madison at church and school and Tootie when it's time to impress the judges. The seemingly down-to-earth Madison plays soccer and enjoys the outdoors. Then, she takes on a sassy and demanding Read more

It's one thing to spray tan and coif a disinterested child onto the stage, but it's another to pit twin sisters against each other. After most lilsugar readers said they found the premise of kid beauty pageants creepy, I decided to watch the second season opener of Toddlers & Tiaras last night. While I expected the stage moms, showgirl costumes, hairpieces and veneers that were all too Read more

Time to bust out the candy and popcorn... or is it? Toddlers and Tiaras is back for season two on TLC. While 43 percent said you would tune into the show's first season, how many of you will return for round two? Child beauty pageants are like a train wreck — it's near impossible to tear one's eyes away from the mama drama. One might be hard pressed to believe these competitions and lifestyles Read more

This week is the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC, and while there are plenty of indie rom-coms to catch our eye, it's the documentaries we're really dying to see. One film contrasts the women of the Miss India beauty pageant with the girls of a fundamentalist Hindu camp, another looks at our culture's obsession with beauty, and there's even one on the manscaping trend (with Jason Bateman and Will Read more