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Welcome to The Changing Room
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. These concerns are often labelled a ‘young person’s problem’, but women of all ages and stages can be affected.
It doesn’t have to be – Butterfly is here to support women with their body image and eating at any time in their life. In partnership with Liptember Foundation, we’re proud to introduce The Changing Room to break down stigma, encourage help-seeking and spread awareness about the issues impacting women’s relationships to their bodies.
The facts: Women and girls experience body dissatisfaction and eating disorders more than any other group.
- More than 1.1 million Australians are living with an eating disorder; and only a third (1 in 3) seek help
- Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of people with eating disorders in Australia are women and girls.
- Around 15 per cent of women will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime
- Women and girls are two times more likely to experience eating disorders than men and boys
- Women are more than twice as likely as men to have experienced binge eating in their lifetime (7.4 per cent compared with 3.0 per cent).
- Women and girls experience the highest levels of body dissatisfaction compared to males across all age groups
- Women consistently report higher levels of body dissatisfaction across all age groups.
- Among teenagers aged 15-17, nearly 40% of females and 24% of males report significant body dissatisfaction.
Watch women tell their stories of navigating body image and eating through different life stages and events.
Our relationships with our body can often change over time
- While dissatisfaction with our bodies peaks in adolescence, it’s a lifelong journey for a lot of women.
- Periods, puberty, pregnancy, breakdowns of relationships, and menopause/perimenopause are the main life events that women report as negatively impacting their relationship with their body.
- Over half of women (51%) said that periods, symptoms such as bloating and cramps, and other menstrual issues such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) impacted how they felt about their body in a negative way
- Nearly 50% of women experience some level of body dissatisfaction during pregnancy
- The percentage of people who felt dissatisfied with their body doubled after giving birth
- Well over half (56%) of women experience some level of body dissatisfaction during perimenopause/menopause
- Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) of women said they avoided romantic relationships or physical closeness with a partner due to feeling negative about their body during menopause.
Helpful resources - blogs written for women
“In our society, there is this societal ideal that a desirable woman is one who is thin, young and doesn’t carry fat in the middle. So, when women experience changes that are against this ideal, they can start to feel unattractive. ” – Dr. Yvonne Chow
“Remember that your body is a vessel that carries you. It can be so hard sometimes, but it’s trying its best, it really is.” – Mimi
“Having more open discussions with my friends about sexual health and other important parts of my life makes me feel more supported and socially connected.” – Becky
“Getting to know your cycle, phases, and how your body ebbs and flows can help you make choices that are right for you.” – Lillian
“Instead of focusing on how your body looks, shift your mindset to what it allows you to do.” – Deanna
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