little blog on the prairie

I don’t know whether to be appalled or intrigued that Mix 94.5 is searching for East Central Illinois’ most beautiful babies (their italics, not mine) in a contest it calls the “The MIX Babes of Summer.”

The station has teamed up with a local photography studio to take photos of children from 3 months to 3 years old for the next three Saturdays at various locations. Someone (it doesn’t say who) will judge the photos, and the semi-finalists will be posted on the MIX web site each week. The babies who receive the most votes will advance to the final judging at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival on August 26.

What makes this contest appealing is the prize — a $1,000 shopping spree (it doesn’t say where ) and a free photo shoot. That doesn’t take away from what makes it appalling. I just don’t think that in good conscience I could put my daughter in this thing. Perhaps it would be more of a blow to my ego than her future ego if she didn’t win. But the whole idea is disturbing on so many levels. Would I really want strangers to “vote” online if my Peanut was more or less beautiful than the baby next to her? The bottom line is, that I don’t need anyone to confirm to me how beautiful she is.

They should have made this contest for pets. KC is no doubt the most adorable canine in Champaign County, there’s no bones about it!