Jo Swinson - Women & Equalities Minister @joswinson talks to @StylistMagazine about #BodyImage - 02 Sep 2014
We can be wealthy, healthy, successful and loved – but many of us are still unhappy with how we look. Stylist investigates why…
By: Kate Graham @katergraham Stylist Magazine @StylistMagazine
For some it’s a mild dislike, for others a ferocious, deep-seated hatred; that bumpy nose or post-baby tummy, the patch of grey hair or that insidious fear of ‘fat’ that can only be kept at bay with constant calorie vigilance. Doctors, engineers, academics; coupled up or happily single; boasting PhDs, families and running thriving businesses – scratch beneath the surface and, chances are, you’ll find a complicated tale of shape and weight, mirrors and make-up.
It isn’t just digits on the scales that make for challenging reading: 41% of UK women are unhappy with their body weight and shape, up from 36% in 2004. Just 4% of women worldwide describe themselves as beautiful and one in five women under 20 has considered cosmetic surgery. It’s been 10 years since Dove launched its paradigm shifting Real Beauty Campaign, yet its recent 2014 study (which includes the above statistics), makes for sorry reading.
