‘I’m supporting my child’
MUM HITS BACK AT CLAIMS SHE IS ‘SEXUALISING’ HER DAUGHTER BY PUTTING HER INTO BEAUTY PAGEANTS
A MUM who spray-tans her 12-yearold to get her ready for pageants has hit back at claims that beauty contests sexualise youngsters – saying they’re no different to dance competitions.
Tracie Nightingale, 49, says she ‘wouldn’t like to think’ how much she’s splurged on entering her daughter Destini into the glitzy shows, admitting they can cost £350 a time.
Before the schoolgirl takes to the stage, her mum will coat her in foundation, highlighter, bronzer and pink lipstick, finishing the look off with false lashes and fake tan.
But not everyone agrees with Tracie’s hobby, with other mums slamming the housewife and her fellow pageant parents for sexualising their children.
She said: “Some people don’t understand them. There’s this idea that you’re parading your children in front of a load of people, but that’s not true at all.
“They’re no different to dance shows – they’re up there on stage make-up too.
“And it’s not like Destini wears this every day. It’s just for the two minutes she’s performing. Plus, there’s very high security. The only people watching are from the pageant community – they can’t just wonder in off the street.”
Single mum Tracie, from Stockport, said Destini has always been an outgoing youngster.
When she was around five, she began to participate in local fairs as a carnival queen, riding around on a float dressed as a princess.
Destini became a well-known face on the carnival circuit.
Tracie, who is also mum to Callum, 27, Marcus, 25, and Jake, 21, said: “She came out showbizzy. She was such a flamboyant kid, she’d sing away to people on the bus. She absolutely loved it. It really matched her outgoing personality.
“Destini is very competitive and always pushes herself to give 100 per cent. No matter what it is she’s doing, she wants to do it well.”
When the schoolgirl turned 10, the family moved to Rhyl – where they stumbled across a local pageant. Already a huge fan of the glitz and glamour, Destini begged her mum to let her take part. Tracie agreed and a few weeks later, her daughter won her first ever crown.
Tracie said: “Carnivals are all about elegance, whereas the pageants are more fun, and you can inject your personality a little more, which I think Destini likes.”
Since then, the pair have toured the country while Destini competes in beauty contests.
Before each one, Tracie spends roughly an hour perfecting her daughter’s make-up, even applying a £130 hairpiece, which she says is easier than making the youngster sit still for hours while she styles her real locks. She said: “All I’m there to do is support Destini.
“She can stop any time she likes. But as long as she’s safe, and still happy doing them, then so am I.”