In July 2020, The Women and Equalities Committee conducted a survey into body image. The results are extremely worrying. See our ‘Impact’ page for some of the statistics or find the full results here.
See below for some of the comments from the thousands of people who participated in the survey, which really highlight the need for our programme.
“People should be taught that all bodies are beautiful, health does not always correlate with size and that there is so much more to life and our worth than losing weight or being the most attractive person possible. […] Self-acceptance and appreciation needs to be promoted in institutions such as primary and secondary schools and hopefully one day people of all ages everywhere will realise they are so much more than their bodies”
– comment from a young person (female)
“I would say that [body image] is among the most important social issues of my generation”
– comment from a young person (female)
“I feel as though, children […] should be taught about body image and how to appreciate your body despite your appearance because it has affected me and my friends very negatively, especially with social media always telling us we need perfect teeth, clear skin, curvy body, toned stomach etc. It makes teenagers not feel good enough”
– comment from a young person (female)
“Should be [body image] taught from a VERY young age about caring about personality more than looks. Like when you are learning how to count, so it is drilled into you from a young age”
-comment from a young person (male)
“Education is needed to both men and women during school to expand the narrow view of what is currently deemed a socially acceptable body image.”
– comment from an adult (female)
“As a clinical Psychologist working with children and young people the impact of [poor body image] is apparent younger and younger. They are less able to ignore the “ideals” pushed via social media.”
– comment from an adult (female)
“Body image is HUGE and greatly impacts both men and women. I see this first hand in schools. Children as young as in year 4 are affected and it needs to be at the forefront for businesses and social media.”
– comment from an adult (female)
“Body image should be talked about early on in schools and parents given help and advise to talk about it too”
– comment from an adult (female)