Article Link BT Sport survey: Body image insecurities rife in women's sport

[hch]

This UK piece is from January 2014; I just learned about it, and I don't imagine that there's been some large shift in three years. (See my postscript.)

http://sport.bt.com/women-in-sport/b...11363867248465

A survey conducted by BT Sport has delivered stark confirmation that body image issues are a worrying problem within women’s sport.

Of the athletes that responded, 80% stated that they felt pressure to conform to a certain look and body type.

Further to that, 89% said that they empathised with the feelings of insecurity expressed by the former swimmer and Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington in her emotional outburst on ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here’ late last year.

An overwhelming number felt these issues were not just confined to sport, with 97% saying the problem stretched to women in wider society.

It links to other pages, such as "WSFF chief: Body image battle is ongoing" (Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation):

As this survey has shown, some of the problems facing women's sport are felt very personally and cause damage at a private, emotional and individual level. And let's not kid ourselves that this is an issue just effecting elite sports women; similar issues are felt by women and girls up and down the country, and for many, they can prevent them participating in sport completely. We know from our research into girls and PE that from an early age physical fitness is seen as less aspirational for girls than boys - even in primary schools, but especially at secondary level.

Girls themselves tell us that getting sweaty is unfeminine; that being skinny is better than being fit; and that the cool set were not the sporty set. It all combines to the horrific statistic that only 8% of 14-year-old girls meet recommended activity levels.

I also find "Pendleton and Adlington speak out on body image" interesting (and others are quoted). I wouldn't have used the same phrasing that appears in a few places, but I like the overall tone. I like this from Rachel Atherton, "Downhill mountain bike World Cup champion":

“When I feel unhappy or wish I was ‘skinny’ I look to Lindsey Vonn, the downhill ski racer. She is incredibly strong and built like a horse! She is the picture of a female athlete and encourages me to lift my weights proudly in the gym.

But I find it sobering to think that even a world champion may be unhappy (with her body, I suppose) and wish to be "skinny."

P.S.

What are we hearing recently? Just five months ago, I posted a link to a BBC news story about the 2016 Girls' Attitudes Survey conducted by Girlguiding.

Just 61% of 1,627 seven- to 21-year-old girls polled for the 2016 Girls' Attitudes Survey felt happy about their bodies, down from 73% in 2011.

Girls as young as seven face "intense and unobtainable appearance pressures to be perfect", say the authors.

Girlguiding director Becky Hewitt called the impact "shocking".

"Girls have told us to stop judging them on how they look," she said.