Why is body confidence at a record low?
In 2016, The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report revealed that body confidence between women and young girls is at an all time low.
It seems like everyday there’s a new food fad emerging. Fermented, vegan, no-carb-no-sugar-no-dairy, organic diets. And if it’s not a new trend, it’s a health scare. Earlier this year, a flurry of articles were released claiming that Nutella, the hazelnut spread beloved by millions, could actually cause cancer. This past week, research has been released lecturing that we should actually be eating at least 10 portions of fruit and vegetables everyday, rather than the long lamented 5.
We are not only a society but a generation that defines ourselves by food and our health. Social media is flooded with videos of quick easy recipes, and success stories of people shedding massive amounts of weight. The idea of self-improvement and constantly bettering oneself has become overwhelming; one must never sit on what they are, they must strive to improve.
Of course, a healthy diet and exercise is encouraged by both qualified medical professionals as well as social media health “gurus”. But it is the constant push for body confidence of only one body type which is problematic. For rock hard abs and an almost emaciated gap between your thighs. A galaxy of social media superstars, and predominantly female, all glamorise one particular body type which for genetic, economic and medical reasons is unattainable for many. Social media and celebrity culture has long created an environment in which being skinny is celebrated, and defines a person’s worth.
Social media has also become a platform for sharing one’s meals. We have become obsessed with photographing the most visually pleasing plate of food we can. Entire accounts are dedicated to food photography; SymmetryBreakfast is just one account dedicated to eye-watering food. It is therefore no wonder that there has been a rise in a relatively unknown eating disorder; Orthorexia nervosa. This condition stems from an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food.
The research conducted by Dove showed an alarming lack of body confidence among women and girls. Interviewing 10,500 females across 13 countries, the study showed that almost 90% of women will attempt to stop eating due to being unhappy with their appearance. A further 56% of women saw social media and its pressure to be perfect as hugely problematic; 78% of women and girls surveyed also admitted that they felt obligated to never subject to failure or show any weakness.
There have however, been great strides made to end this cycle of emaciated glorification. In 2015, Lauren Conrad removed the use of words such as “skinny”, “slim” and “thin” from her website, replacing them with “fit”, “toned” and “healthy”. Women’s Health, a magazine focused on improving fitness, banned the phrases “Bikini Body” and “Drop Two Sizes” from their covers in 2016. This lead to a new movement, focusing on strength and power over restrictive diets and how thin one can be. “Strong is the new Skinny” has become a powerful slogan, encouraging people to allow their bodies to transform into powerful machines.
Perhaps the most powerful changes are those which accept all sorts of body types. Many beauty and fashion companies, have been paramount in the attempt to see increased body diversity within the media. In the past week, beauty giant L’Oreal coined in on their famous slogan with their “We’re All Worth It” campaign in association with the Prince’s Trust. The campaign is designed to encourage young people to foster both self-love and self-confidence, no matter what their appearance or ability. These campaigns certainly have the right idea; rather than focusing on the things we do not like about or bodies, we should all strive to focus on the positive.
With thanks to Naomi Gilad and Rebecca Bloomfield.
