Do "beauty" contests serve any purpose in society?

First of all, how disturbing is this picture? I think children's beauty pageants have to be the most disturbing thing in the world. I don't think that beauty pageants serve any purpose in society, but are harmless, glitzy fun for people who are into that kind of thing. Children's beauty pageants on the other hand should be illegal. The only people who go to see them are pedophiles and psychotic, obsessive moms who are verging on child abuse. A child should have an environment that is free of sexual objectification and 6 hour salon visits. To take a young impressionable girl in a bikini and teach her how to strut like sexpot is wrong, just plain old wrong.