How do you become famous?

Due to the overdose of media reports on a certain unsolved murder case from 10 years ago, and a rather heated debate on Weekend Sunrise between a pro-pageant American mum and anti-pageant Australian woman, I couldn't help but do some research into the alarming trend that is........children's beauty pageants.

One argument is that the parents are using their own children to express their own passions and dreams which they could not achieve when they were a child. This is not only quite sad, but also rather unloving of them as parents, to take away the innocence and joy of being a child. The years spent as a child are already few and far between, and to encourage them to grow up when they clearly are not ready may lead to the child becoming vain, selfish, spoilt, and even confused about who they really are.

It appears to really only be popular in the USA and steeped into the culture there, however with so many of our popular TV shows being exported from the USA to our shores, one can begin to imagine the possibility of these diffusing into our society.

Come to think of it, things such as the Dolly Model contests already pulls the pageant strings.

Some interesting facts I came across:

Kirsten Dunst- Kirsten started out in showbiz at the age of three, where she began filming television commercials, and was a Ford model as a child.

ELijah Wood- At an early age, Elijah showed a knack for entertaining and wowing audiences, and his mother decided to take him to Los Angeles for an Annual International Modeling and Talent Association Convention.

Kaite Holmes-As a teenager, she began attending modeling school.

Lindsay Lohan- She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials.

So it seems that 1) you need to be in one of those K-Mart catalogues wearing cheap clothes, or 2) Be prepared to endorse "Wok Star" stir-fry sauces on the idiot box to get your career break.

No thanks