Study reveals that body confidence is a global issue for girls
As someone working in media, I can tell you that the push for diversity and positive body image has been especially strong in the last few years. But according to a recent study by Dove, we still have a long way to go.
The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report looked at 10,500 women across 13 countries, discussing issues like unrealistic beauty pressures, body image and general media portrayal of women. What they found was that low body esteem was a unifying challenge for women across the globe, regardless of age or geography.
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“This latest research shows that low body confidence is a global issue,” says Diane Laberge, Marketing Director at Unilever Canada.
“Though troubling, these results are also unsurprising, given the increasing pressures women and girls face today. We need to help empower women and girls in many ways, including increasing body-confidence education, driving meaningful conversations around the pressures women and girls face, and advocating for change in how females and their appearance are talked about and portrayed in the media.”
The report built on studies from 2004 and 2010, and found that 90 per cent of Canadian women choose to opt out of important life activities, like trying out for a team or hanging out with friends, when they don’t feel good about the way they look. A shocking 92 per cent said they would stop eating or put their health at risk if they were feeling low body-esteem.
“Taking time for care – whether it’s body or mind – is an important step in improving the confidence of women and girls,” says Laberge.
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But change seems to be happenning – even if slowly.
The report also revealed that 78 per cent of women would rather look their personal best than conform to someone else’s beauty ideal and 84 per cent admitted to feeling more confident and positive when they invested time in taking care of themselves.
With companies like Dove using "real" women in their advertising, and others like Aerie swearing off photoshop, there are some small steps being taken to reverse these feelings of doubt.
“With this new research, we hope to inspire women and girls everywhere to develop a positive relationship with the way they look.”
Is body confidence an issue you struggle with? Let us know your thoughts by tweeting to @YahooStyleCA.
