For Brit females, worst part of being a girl is the pressure to look sexy
September 6th, 2010 - 2:49 pm ICT by ANI
London, Sep 6 (ANI): Almost fifty percent of Brit girls feel that the worst part about being female is the feeling that they have to look attractive, reveals a survey by the Girl Guides.
And 75 per cent of those questioned also said they went on strict diets to look good for others, rather than for health reasons.
After questioning females in 2009, the organisation this year petitioned PM David Cameron for compulsory labelling of airbrushed pictures of stars and models.
Following these latest findings a concerned Leah Parsons, 18, a member of Girlguiding UK’s youth panel Advocate said that girls are only running after an illusion.
“These kind of photographs trick girls into believing in an image of perfection which doesn’t really exist,” the Sun quoted her as saying.
“It is interesting to see further evidence of the pressure on girls and young women reflected in this year’s results.
“Teenage girls see pictures of women such as Kelly Brook or Cheryl Cole, for example, who is so skinny and has perfect skin and hair, and start to think they should look just like that,” she added.
Cathy Fraser of Girlguiding UK said: “We know that girls are growing up in ever-changing, increasingly complicated times and, as adults who care about their experiences, we must listen to their views. Girls are telling us the world can be extremely stressful, which leads to a range of unhealthy behaviours and outcomes.
“It is vital that we support girls and young women to develop their self-esteem and resilience so they can cope with it.”
The report also found their views of the family changing and that “daddy’s girls” are on the way out - as daughters are now far closer to their mums.
The comprehensive new survey took account of the views of 1,200 females aged seven to 21 - not just Girl Guides.
Three quarters of those questioned believe that single parents are just as good as married ones.
But the good news is that most young British women are content with their lives.
A gladdening 87 per cent of girls are happy most of the time, with a third describing themselves as “very happy”.
They also don’t think it is important to be a celebrity. (ANI)
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Tags: behaviours, being a girl, bri, cheryl cole, complicated times, david cameron, girl guides, girlguiding uk, health reasons, kelly brook, leah, mums, new survey, perfect skin, resilience, single parents, strict diets, teenage girls, three quarters, trick girls