beauty pagents

last month, national magazines and TV shows have run photographs and videotapes of the bleached-blonde woman-child vamping across stages in showgirl costumes and heavy makeup.

There are thousands of children like JonBenet. Charles Dunn, publisher of Pageantry magazine, estimates that, every year, beauty pageants show off 100,000 children under the age of 12. It's a subculture of bleached hair, blue contact lenses and false eyelashes. Little girls

sashay in sequined gowns and swimsuits, sometimes adding a touch of striptease by

removing wraparound skirts.

Parents pay entry fees of up to $500 and buy thousand-dollar gowns so their girls can

compete for 10-inch crowns, 6-foot trophies and $10,000 savings bonds. Some of the

children travel with an entourage of makeup artists, hairdressers and talent coaches.

It pays to start young. Jo-Ann Guerin, director of All Star Kids U.S.A. Pageants, once

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Approximate Word count = 975
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)