Child beauty pageants are highly controversial competitions featuring contestants under 18—often toddlers and young children—judged on appearance, talent, interview skills, and stage presence in glitz (high-glamor with heavy makeup, spray tans, flippers, and elaborate costumes) or natural formats. Emerging in the early 1960s in the U.S. from earlier baby contests and adult pageants, the industry … Continue reading Episode 512: The Wild and Controversial World of Child Beauty Pageants