Online retailer releases report on issues related to body confidence and media influence
- A third started feeling pressured by body images portrayed in the media aged 12 or younger
- Over half (56%) have changed the way they look due to media pressures
- Low body confidence has stopped three quarters (74%) of women aged 18-40 doing something they enjoy
- Correlation between following ‘unrealistic’ Instagram accounts and feeling pressure to edit ‘digital self’ with photo retouching apps
- Gemma Cairney hosts panel discussion evening to address body confidence issues
Research released today (25th April 2019) reveals that nearly all women (89%) aged 18-40 have felt low body confidence and three quarters (74%) blame airbrushing, claiming the fashion industry has a responsibility to introduce a code of conduct for image retouching.
Over two-thirds (62%) of 18-24 year olds say they are most influenced by social media compared to digital, broadcast or print outlets. Instagram plays a large role, and there’s a clear correlation between young women following accounts they believe to portray unrealistic depictions of life (51%) and feeling pressure to edit their digital selves (31%) with airbrushing apps such as Facetune. The same number admitted they’d be happier if they didn’t have an Instagram account.
In fact, over half (56%) of all women have done something to physically change the way they look in response to these pressures.
The report, looking at body confidence and representation, media influence and fashion buying habits, by online retailer Simply Be, reveals that most women think the fashion industry still has a long way to go in terms of representation – 77% of those asked said fashion should reflect real life but 86% recognised the fashion industry still tends to use models of similar height and size and 80% would like a greater range of body shapes and sizes to be represented by catwalk and commercial models.
Presenter and author, Gemma Cairney, will this evening host a discussion with panellists including plus size models Hayley Hasselhoff and Felicity Hayward, Lauren Mahon (Girl Vs Cancer), broadcaster Annie Price, and fashion news editor Billie Bhatia, to address the issues revealed in the report.
To accelerate the work being done by the body positivity movement and prominent activists and influencers such as Jameela Jamil, women agree the fashion industry has a responsibility to implement measures such as:
- Introduce a code of conduct for airbrushing (74%)
- Enforce a diversity clause wherever a number of models feature in a campaign (44%)
- Have an ‘inclusivity rider’ on model booking forms to ensure diversity in fashion shows and campaigns (41%)
Three quarters of women also admitted that lack of body confidence has stopped them doing something they enjoy at some point in their lives, although 42% of those did manage to overcome this by means such as refraining from scrolling through social media, embracing fashion and their personal style, and talking with their loved ones.
When asked to think about how their relationship with their bodies may have changed for the better, which a third (34%) of women have experienced, it seems that only a ‘life-defining’ moment such as pregnancy, a diagnosis, finding true love, reaching a career goal or undergoing surgery gives enough perspective to have a true effect.
Ed Watson Chief Brand Officer for N Brown, which owns Simply Be, said; “A lot of work has already been done to change attitudes towards body shape and size by the constantly-growing body positivity movement, influencers, activists and brands who are starting to embrace the plus size market, but it’s so important that we don’t slow down.
We’ve worked hard these past few years to promote body positivity, working with size inclusive models and influencers and staging campaigns during London Fashion Week directly targeted at the fashion industry protesting at the lack of size diversity and calling for action.
However our research shows that low body confidence is still such a huge issue amongst young women, who would love to see the fashion industry take tangible action towards more realistic portrayal of women.
We hope our report and panel discussion will help to push the industry forward for positive change; fashion designers and retailers need to be more size diverse in their approach to producing, buying and promoting fashion to women.
We want all women to feel great in their own skin and have the confidence to express themselves and embrace their individuality!”
Simply Be’s ‘Ahead of the Curve’ panel discussion event takes place this evening (Thursday 25th April), and will see Gemma Cairney hosting a debate amongst a panel including Hayley Hasselhoff, Felicity Hayward, Lauren Mahon, Annie Price and Billie Bhatia.
The event will be live streamed from Simply Be’s Facebook channel.
