65% of participants have avoided a life event, photograph, or opportunity because of how they felt about their appearance — including weddings, professional opportunities, photographs, and intimacy.

35.9% have never told themselves “I am beautiful”.

The average body confidence score was 5.37 out of 10 — a community almost split down the middle.

Body shame was most first felt between ages 6 and 13, triggered by family comments, peer teasing, puberty, and media imagery.

Only 1 in 13 women feel that women in media genuinely reflect real women’s bodies and stories.

54% feel pressure from social media and advertising to look a certain way.

Participants described beauty standards as cyclical and contradictory — the trends change but the pressure stays.

74.4% feel empowered by what their body has done (rather than how it looks) — referencing childbirth, illness recovery, physical endurance, and simply continuing through difficulty.

When asked what their most beautiful quality would be if beauty were not about appearance, participants named: kindness, empathy, presence, authenticity, compassion, energy, and resilience.

68% experience body positivity as complicated or demanding— the desire is not for celebration, but for permission to feel neutral, human, and inconsistent.