Would you class yourself beautiful?
It seems that we're having a body confidence issue ladies, only one in ten of us have the confidence to call ourselves attractive.
A new study revealed these shocking statistics, which questioned how women view themselves and where the pressure to be 'beautiful' is coming from.
Holly Willoughby and Kate Winslet were in the top 3 of women's most 'inspirational beauties', beaten only by the nation's sweetheart, Kate Middleton.
Which comes as no surprise when the survey revealed that women rated 'Real Women' as the image that they would most like to see in beauty advertising.
Interestingly, the study says that one in four women admit the biggest pressure actually comes from themselves. Society and the media are next on the list of top beauty pressures, but reassuringly just 5 per cent of women feel pressure from friends, family and partners.
The research also revealed that the secret to UK women feeling confident was a clear combination of relationships and looking good. Almost three quarters said being loved was the secret to feeling confident, more than half said it was having a strong relationship or marriage and over a third said liking how you look in the mirror. One in three said being in good shape was key.
The Dove Body Confidence Census 2012 also revealed different attitudes to confidence across varying age groups. As women get older, the amount of compliments they give per day reduces significantly.
Although ‘being loved’ rated highest as the biggest influence on confidence, looks are still playing a key role in boosting self-esteem. The majority of women (82%) agree they feel their best inside and out when they care about the way they look. The art of paying compliments also rated highly in helping women feel beautiful, with 50% agreeing they feel more confident when they are complimented - second only to being in a happy relationship. Sadly however, a quarter of UK women are unable to remember when they last received a compliment that made them feel beautiful.
Listen to our podcast with Susie Orbach, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst and author of books including “Fat Is a Feminist Issue” and “Bodies”, Alexis Foreman, who is pictured above in the latest Dove Campaign and Alison Fisher, spokesperson from Dove to see what their view is on the topic.
