Pageant Boys: Competing for Crowns in a Girls' World

Nov. 15, 2010 — -- Among the glitz and the glamour, the sequins and the hairspray, there are a few contestants on the pageant circuit not quite like the others. They're pageant boys, competing for crowns in a girls' world.

Tracy Miller says her son, Zander, is one of the best. "I'm always surprised when Zander wins," she said. "And we mainly do them for fun and because he enjoys doing it. So, it's just like, you know, you put your child in baseball or soccer or swimming. They enjoy doing it. So, this is what Zander enjoys."

The 6-year-old from Missouri has been competing since he was a baby.

"They're fun, and you get to win a bunch of trophies and crowns," Zander said.

On the hit show "Toddlers and Tiaras," Zander showed off his beauty regimen, which includes manicures and makeup. "I have to get in makeup to cover up my rashes and boo-boos," he said.

Even his 3-year-old brother, Casey, is competing now. The beautified brothers are among a small but growing number of boys competing on the pageant circuit. An estimated 10 percent of contestants are now boys, up from 5 percent five years ago.

Some boys take the stage mere days after being born. "Kevin did really well," one mother said of her 2-week-old son on "Toddlers and Tiaras." "He was awake and wasn't crying."

In some cases, pageant moms admit their sons are filling a void. "When I see little girls, I always think, I could turn my little boys into girls," another mom said. "These are my girls I never had!"

But Miller insists Zander is living out his own dream. "The people who say this is not for little boys need to wake up. We are in 2010. Heading into 2011. I honestly never thought I'd be doing pageants with my son. But he loves it. Everyone loves him."

Pageant boys are just the latest in a recent string of well-publicized reports of boys embracing their more feminine or creative sides.

This fall, 11-year-old Tyler Wilson was bullied for being the only boy on an all-girl cheerleading squad. "It feels horrible that they can't accept me for who I am," Wilson said. "It's my choice. If I want to be a cheerleader, I'm going to be a cheerleader."