France Bans Child Beauty Pageants

[Chris]

Beauty pageants have a proud tradition in France but there are limits to what French lawmakers will accept. On Tuesday senators banned children's beauty contests to prevent the "hyper-sexualisation" of kids, promising tough sanctions for those who break the law.

Judging children under the age of 16 on their physical appearance in so-called “beauty contestsâ€￾ is now a criminal offence in France, the French Senate ruled on Tuesday night.

Centrist Senator Chantal Jouanno, author of a report "Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality" proposed an ammendment, banning the underage contests, which was backed by 196 senators, with 146 voting against it.

Tough sanctions will now be handed out to anyone flouting the law.

Under the new law, organizers of pageants under the age of 16 may now face up to two years in prison if they fail to comply with the ban and a fine of up to €30,000 ($40,000).

“Let’s not let our daughters think from such a young age that they will be judged according to their appearance. Let’s not let commercial interest impact on social interest,â€￾ Jouanno told the Senate.

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No surprise that the main people against this were the ones profiting from the contests. I do think the punishments may be too harsh though, but that's the point they're trying to get across. Just looks a bit odd that something that's widely practiced by many other countries is a criminal offense in one like France, but I do agree with what they're going for.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Atleast France has the balls to ban pedophile Parades.

 

[Deezy]

Should still have pagents, if only to take the kids away from their parents.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

What does a beauty pageant even prove? Congratulations! You're a little smarter than the other girls who forgot their lines.

 

[Chris]

What does a beauty pageant even prove? Congratulations! You're a little smarter than the other girls who forgot their lines.

Doubt intelligence is what they're trying to show in these pageants.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Doubt intelligence is what they're trying to show in these pageants.

Why ask them all those questions then?

 

[Chris]

Why ask them all those questions then?

To claim they care about more and that it's also about "personality." It's called BEAUTY pageants.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

To claim they care about more and that it's also about "personality." It's called BEAUTY pageants.

Haha I don't know anything about them. Just seems pointless. Only times I hear about them is on the news announcing the winner and she usually has the best answers to whatever question.

 

[dreamboy3000]

Obviously the right thing to do and the UK should follow suit.

Kids should be allowed to live as children without being tarted up and made to look older.

I can imagine paedophiles aren't too pleased about it.

 

[Keith]

I think its a great move by France, this is one of the most concerning aspects of modern culture and like dreamboy said we should follow suit in this country.