The third in a series of three, called Toddlers & Tiaras, Little girl beauty queen Star, JonBenet Ramsey
That the father of Jonbenet Ramsey’s says that Pageants like, “Toddlers and Tiaras” is ‘Bizarre’ seems an unusual, if not odd thing for him to say in this ABC news YouTube. Was she not a wonderful and successful pageant girl on television? More, do you think because of her beauty and fame, the kind of end she came to, which is unknown, was the result of some strange act that involved that beauty and fame? In other words, are these children who participate in Pageants vulnerable to various kinds of exploitation, and in this case murder because of that television exploitation? Significantly, is this a kind of abuse of a child, to allow them the ‘Bizarre’ act of being in Pageants like “Toddlers and Tiaras?”
Shari Karney: It is my personal opinion that Jonbenet Ramsey’s participation in the kiddie beauty pageant circuit led to her death and was linked to pornographic pictures being taken of her that went too far. One of the factors in the autopsy report was that the child died with a garret around her neck. A garret is used by adults to cause a loss of consciousness to increase orgasm. And I think that they ended up choking her to death when simulating the garret use in a pornographic photo.
For Jonbenet’s father to say that Toddlers & Tiara is bizarre strikes me as bizarre. Why wasn’t it grotesque when he let his own daughter be in this kind of child exploitation—“beauty pageant.”
What is the fascination the public has with the beautiful little girls parading in the pageant as an adult beauty queen in competition? Is this a kind of voyeurism, a kind of even sexual exploitation of children? How does the public come to enjoy and even applaud this disturbing kind of show-off play by a child that is so sexual and adult, even in its kind of special child-like innocence in portraying the adult form of beauty pageant?
Shari Karney: I would like readers to give comment about, ‘What is the fascination the public has with little girls parading around like adult beauty queens in competition.And more often scantily clad than the adult competitors. They are dressed erotically like Lady Gaga and Julia Roberts in the movie “Pretty Woman.”‘
My answer to the question: It’s our fascination with youth and innocence and the sexualization of young girls, even toddlers, in our society. It’s a form of decadence where the lines between right and wrong are so blurred. Television panders to the coliseum mentality of throwing the innocent to the lions. Television is feeding the viewer raw meat to excite the lions before the kill. It’s playing to the lowest most caveman like part of our brain. Then we wonder why 1 in 3 girls, and 1 in 5 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18.
JonBenet Ramsey’s Father Regrets Letting Her in Pageants, Says ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ Is ‘Bizarre’–an Excerpt
By Juju Chang | ABC News Blogs
…with hindsight, Ramsey has a fascinating view of today’s child beauty pageant “Tiger moms,” who parade their daughters on the hit TLC show, “Toddlers and Tiaras.” Ramsey said he never sat and watched the show, but he has caught snippets of it, which he said he finds disturbing.
“It’s very bizarre,” he says outright. “And, it certainly- Patsy and JonBenet didn’t approach it that way. We- they just did it for fun.”
Ramsey said he remembers his little girl in a parade, just days before JonBenet was found killed in the basement of the family’s Boulder, Colo., home on Dec. 26, 1996.
“Patsy had her sitting atop a friend’s convertible in the Christmas parade waving at the people lining the streets,” Ramsey recalled. “Patsy’s mother later told me that a strange man approached the car during the parade and it made her uncomfortable. I think about these things now and it makes me cringe. We were so naïve. I now believe with all my heart that it’s not a good idea to put your child on public display.”
Patsy Ramsey was a beauty queen herself and JonBenet very much wanted to take part in pageants after seeing her mother on stage at a pageant reunion, John Ramsey said, but letting his daughter compete in pageants is something he regrets.
“Only because- that possibly might have drawn attention to us,” he said. “I don’t know. But- I think for- for advice to a parent is just recognize that- regardless of where you live, there- there could be evil around you. And- and don’t be naive about it. And keep your kids protected.”
Almost anyone over the age of 20 probably remembers the notorious case of JonBenet Ramsey’s death, which remains unsolved. It was the morning after Christmas 1996. Her family found a horrifying ransom note, threatening to kill her if they didn’t pay $118,000, which was a seemingly odd amount.
Police were called and descended on the Ramseys’ house, but before long, John Ramsey, the well-to-do executive, made a shocking discovery – JonBenet’s body.
“When I found her it was a rush of relief.” Ramsey said. “And then of course within moments, I realized that she probably was dead. But she was back in my arms.”
Within hours, the Boulder police began treating the Ramseys, especially John, as suspects. Ramsey said he got a tip from a caller inside the Boulder police department, telling him they were targeting him and he should get a lawyer. When the investigation was leaked to the press, it sparked a media frenzy.
“I had 24-hour-a-day cameras outside of our house for, gosh, a year, probably,” he said.