Body confidence across the lifespan

• Body confidence is low overall and declines with age. Only 9% of Baby Boomers and 4% of Pre-Baby Boomers reported feeling very confident about their bodies, compared to 20% amongst Gen Z and Gen Y.
• Men are twice as likely than women to say they feel very confident in their bodies, while women were twice as likely to describe themselves as very unconfident.
• Body anxiety starts early, with around two in five Australians saying they became conscious of their bodies before age 14.
• Two in five women said they had received a remark about their appearance that stayed with them for life, compared with around one in five men.

Based on a new survey of 1,059 Australians by Butterfly Foundation, which dives into how body confidence can change with age and how factors influencing body image have changed over time. 

Chatting appearance pressures

There’s a lot we can learn from different generations, when it comes to appearance pressures and how we can create safer online spaces that support our body image.

Young people could ask older generations:

• What was the ‘ideal body’ when you were growing up? Where did it come from, and how did you feel about it?
• Did you ever feel pressure to look a certain way, or compare yourself to another person’s body?

Older people could ask young generations:

• Where do you find spaces online that make you feel good about yourself and your body?
• What’s the hardest part about daily appearance pressures, that you think other people my age may not understand?

Download our guide

Our resource that explores how society, culture and media shape our body image and the way we see ourselves, and how we can learn from different generations to better protect our body image and build safer, kinder, online communities.

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDE