How do women describe themselves?
- Only 1 percent of Australian women describe themselves as looking beautiful while 30 percent of Australian women describe themselves as average looking.*
- Only 10 percent of Australian women are very satisfied with their own beauty.
*Respondents were able to choose from attractive, beautiful, pretty, good-looking, gorgeous, cute, stunning, sophisticated, sexy, natural, feminine, or average.
Importance of attribute in making a woman beautiful
- 71 percent of Australian women believe that humour is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- 81 percent of Australian women believe that dignity is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- Just over 90 percent of Australian women believe happiness is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- 24 percent of Australian women believe that youthfulness is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- 27 percent of Australian women believe that body weight and shape is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- 21 percent of Australian women believe that financial success is very important in making a woman beautiful.
- 39 percent of Australian women believe that the appearance of your skin is very important in making a woman beautiful.
Importance of attribute in making you feel beautiful
- Just over 80 percent of Australian women say that being loved is very important in making them feel beautiful.
- 77 percent of Australian women say that having a strong relationship or marriage is very important in making them feel beautiful.
- 79 percent of Australian women say that having a close circle of friends is very important in making them feel beautiful.
- Just over 80 percent of Australian women say that doing something they really love to do is very important in making them feel beautiful.
- 15 percent of Australian women say that looking better than others they know is very important in making them feel beautiful.
Satisfied/dissatisfied with physical attractiveness
- Only 8 percent of Australian women are very satisfied with their physical attractiveness.
Satisfied/dissatisfied with facial attractiveness
- Only 14 percent of Australian women are very satisfied with their facial attractiveness.
- 48 percent of Australian women strongly agree that physically attractive women are more valued by men.
- 66 percent of Australian women strongly agree that society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness.
- 57 percent of Australian women strongly feel that women today are expected to be more physically attractive than their mothers generation was.
- 78 percent of Australian women strongly agree that physical attractiveness is about how one looks whereas beauty includes much more of who a person is.
- 37 percent of Australian women strongly agree that women who are beautiful have greater opportunities in life.
- 88 percent of Australian women strongly agree that they feel most beautiful when they are happy and fulfilled in their lives.
- 90 percent of Australian women strongly agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful.
- 82 percent of Australian women strongly agree that beauty can be achieved through attitude, spirit and other attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance.
- 93 percent of Australian women strongly agree that a woman can be beautiful at any age.
- 93 percent of Australian women strongly feel that if they had a daughter that they would want her to feel beautiful, even if she is not physically attractive.
The top two ways the media could do a better job of depicting women in media and advertising are by showing women of different body weights and shapes (59%) and by showing everyday women as well as models (41%).
Please note:
Respondents were asked to choose their top two from the following list:
- Women of different ethnic backgrounds
- Women of different body weights and shapes
- Women of different ages
- Women active in their lives
- Everyday women as well as models
- Models without enhancing the way they look
- Women of different ethnic backgrounds 26%
- Women of different body weights and shapes 59%
- Women of different ages 31%
- Women active in their lives 14%
- Everyday women as well as models 41%
- Models without enhancing the way they look 21%