The worst part is quite a lot of our mainstream media is trying to convince us that she is terrible, and that she is only using gender as a bargaining chip at that no one is impressed with her. I think however nothing could be further from the truth. I myself am glad someone is finally giving it back to these…

You'd think, right before you typed "A BIG RED BOX" on any formal menu, let alone one where it was in reference to the Prime Minister's vagina... you'd consider the consequences.

Tell me again how Julia is exaggerating things and "plays the sexism card."

this ticks me off. I don't care what you think about the prime minister, but for fucks sake this is so sexist and disrespectful, and humiliating for a woman trying to make her way in a heavily male-dominated area. It just feels like little boys giggling over bras in the back of the class.

And yet people claim that it is the PM who is "playing the misogyny card".... There's a lot of implicit sexism towards Julia Gillard so maybe silver lining of this disgusting affair is that people will realise that sexism is a real issue in Australian politics?

This is horrifying. This is kind of like the time a naked man tried to jump through the Coldstone Creamery window at an outdoor mall, and it turned out to be my high school ex. DODGED THAT BULLET.

I always felt that if a naked man is approaching, it might be obvious to kick him in the junk.

But on the other hand....ew.

PCP has the effect of making people overheat, and also lose track of their boundaries, so off come the clothes. Whee! (Wii?) (Weewee?)

And here's the crazy part - non-sluts talk about sluts at brunch! They're like celebrities; at some level, everyone wants to be one, and to be talked about at brunch.

Brunch?! Sunday mornings are for sneaking in smelling like a crack den while trying to convince your flatmates that you were merely out for a brisk morning stroll in last nights clothes.

Glad someone pointed this out. Little Miss Sunshine is nothing like Toddlers and Tiaras. I'm betting the author hasn't seen it.

@Kimmie: I imagine the judges know all the kids who compete regularly. The pageanting world is a pretty small one, and unless you live in a really big city, you're going to see the same people at the pageants over and over again.

How do the judges know who has entered the most pageants? Do you submit a resume? Do the judges judge lots of pageants? I don't doubt they're totally political, but I'm curious how this works. It sucks that they teach little kids that so early :(

Yeah, that kind of confused me. Little Miss Sunshine pokes fun at the pageant world and is a great movie. It's not anywhere near the fuckery that is Toddlers and Tiaras.

Agreed. Immediately hiding it from her or telling her it's bad creates a whole mess of other issues.

Or, you know, use this as a teaching moment and talk to her about the media, social pressure, beauty ideals, and so on. Sure she's 5, but it's never too early to start that conversation.

God forbid you let her figure out what she likes and dislikes on her own.

My niece is 11 and has been desperately begging to be allowed to be in a pageant. This is a kid whose favorite color is "sparkle".

For the record, Little Miss Sunshine is actually a pretty awesome movie. It's definitely not appropriate for young children, but it's also basically everything Toddlers and Tiaras is not (at least from my limited understanding of Toddlers and Tiaras).