Low body confidence can be hard to identify and even harder to address, which is why Dove is on a mission to help everyone support young people to be more body-confident.
What is low body confidence?
What is low body confidence?
The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report (PDF) (1,003 KB)Opens in new window🔗 revealed that, worldwide, when girls don’t feel good about the way they look:
• 8 in 10 opt out of important life activities, such as engaging with friends or loved ones;
• 7 in 10 stop eating or put their health at risk in other ways;
• and 7 in 10 have not been assertive in their opinion or stuck to their decision.
Perhaps all this is unsurprising when 70% believe media and advertising set unrealistic standards of beauty.
When girls hold themselves back because of the way they think they look, they miss out – and society misses out too. Studies in Finland, China, and the US show that girls who think they’re overweight, regardless of their actual weight, have lower grades. The negative impact of low confidence continues later in life, with 17% of women claiming they won’t go to a job interview and 8% missing work when they feel bad about their appearance.
Dove believes beauty should be a source of confidence, not worry. We want a world free of appearance-related anxiety so young people can grow up as confident and active members of society.
Recognizing low body confidence
What are the signs of low body confidence and negative body image? A young person might seem overly focused on weight or body shape. They may complain about features such as their skin color, or seem generally upset about their looks. You might have heard them talking about bullies at school or obsessing over images of celebrities with impossibly long limbs and photoshopped bodies – beauty standards that are impossible to achieve.
You might think of these pressures as part of growing up – and some of them are. But when a young person doesn’t feel good about themselves, they aren’t reaching their full potential.
The fight against low self-esteem starts here
There’s plenty we can do to boost young people’s self-esteem and body confidence.
We’re committed to helping girls everywhere fulfill their potential, so we’ve partnered with leading researchers and experts in the fields of psychology, health, and body image to provide confidence-building tips, resources, and activities. These will help you explore issues and solutions around body image and self-esteem with the young people in your life.
If you’re a teacher, check out our Dove Self-Esteem Project workshop materials, or if you lead a youth group, we’ve got specially-designed resources for youth leaders. For parents, we have articles and activities to help you understand the key issues and tackle low body confidence. And if you’re an aunt, grandparent, or just someone who cares about a young person, try our Mindful Me activity guide🔗 for a mindful approach to fight low self-esteem.
You’ll also find answers to your questions on body confidence and low self-esteem in our Frequently Asked Questions.
References:
The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report. Commissioned by Dove, 2016.🔗
Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundations of Beauty Beliefs, First Dove Global Study, 2006.🔗
Costing the Invisible, University of the West of England, 2014.🔗
Building Body Confidence - A Conversation Guide for Parents
For fun body confidence activities to help boost self-esteem in young people, watch Allison Kimmey’s Confidence Kit video, download our Confidence Kit guide, and start a conversation today.
Download the guide
