Qalmost four out of ten Italians they don’t like their physical appearance and don’t get along with their bodies. This is the result of the investigation conducted by Eurispes to take stock of how the collective imagination has modified and shaped the perception of the woman’s self, so much so that in some cases it is imprisoned in “mental cages” from which it is difficult to escape. Results that show how body positivity is a concept that is still far from being deeply introjected.
Women don’t like their bodies
The research involved a sample of 1,048 women across the national territory, aged 18 and over and over a third of them, the 36.4%he reported having a negative relationship with one’s body. This perception is widespread especially among younger people: 66% of “over 65s”, in fact, have made peace with their bodies compared to 58.8% of younger ones.
Furthermore, women who live in a couple without children are more satisfied with their external appearance than those who live alone (53.7%) and single mothers with children (53.4%).
The Eurispes survey takes stock of the collective imagination and the relationship between women and their own image (Gettyimages)
Feeling beautiful is important
The clear majority of women, 74.1%, say that feeling beautiful is important first of all in the relationship you have with yourself, for 68.2% it positively affects mood, while for 64.7% feeling tidy or unkempt affects the way you relate to others. And again: 55.7% he doesn’t leave the house if he hasn’t first taken care of his external appearance. And almost half, 49.6%, report that feeling beautiful is important first and foremost in the relationship they have with others.
Others say that liking themselves and feeling beautiful make them appear more powerful (39.3%) and that it is important to be considered beautiful by others and receive appreciation (38.4%). There is no shortage of those who confess to often monitoring the way in which activities appear appear more important or predominant among the very young.
How much weight matters
For women body weight remains a taboo: most say if they could would partially change their body (57.2%) would like to be thinner (54.7%). Furthermore, more than half monitor their figure through physical activity and believe that if they reached their ideal weight they would feel better about themselves.
Over a third of the sample reports feeling frustration because they cannot reach what they believe to be their ideal weight and believe that, if they reached their ideal weight, others would like them more. Finally, more than one in 4 women say that they would change their body a lot if they could.
Few give up self-care
Over a third of women say they spend 10-30 minutes taking care of their appearance every day, 26% from 30 minutes to an hour, 20.9% less than 10 minutes, 15% from 1 to 2 hours, 4.1% over 2 hours. Just under half of women, therefore, dedicate more than half an hour every day to their appearance, while one in 5 more than an hour. A fifth, on the contrary, reserves less than 10 minutes for this commitment. The most popular beauty treatments among women are those specific to slim and/or tonethe majority practice them, 56.7%, and those anti age (44%). Tanning lamps, over a third of them, non-surgical beauty treatments and machines for passive gymnastics are popular. The use of cryotherapy is less frequent, 24.3% and ozone therapy 23%, although chosen by almost a quarter of women.
How much it costs women to be beautiful
For the care of one’s appearance, cosmetics, hairdressing, hair removal, nails, treatments, etc., a third of the sample spends on average between 10 and 50 euros per month, 29.5% between 51 and 100 euros, 19 .7% between 101 and 300 euros. 12.7% estimate their average monthly expenditure to be even below 10 euros, at the other extreme, 5% above 300 euros. One in 4 women allocates over 100 euros a month to taking care of their beauty. Furthermore, a quarter of women admit to having undergone the Cosmetic Surgery3.4% three times or more.
How much the judgment of others matters
The vast majority of women, 72.8% to be precise, have received judgments about their body size (too thin, too round…), an experience that often or regularly affects more than one in four. Among the most frequent judgments are the appreciation for a successful weight loss (69.4%), encouragement to take better care of his appearance (66.9%), or even negative comments on his appearance (55%).
Two thirds of the sample also admitted that they choose their clothing more based on aesthetics than actual comfort. In short, physical appearance still has a significant influence on women and this happens because, the conclusions of the investigation hypothesize, the female body is not only an intimate and private issue of the individual, but it still inevitably carries with it a public dimension which distorts the personal perception of one’s body, forcing every woman to deal with an external, often severe gaze.
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