Smooth, well-shaved skin and a slim figure… the “summer body” is a source of anxiety and anxiety in summer for nearly half of French people, especially for women, according to an Ifop survey published on Wednesday June 21, 2023 .
- 6 out of 10 French women don’t like their bodies, according to a new survey. The rate is 33% among men.
- Nearly half of the women surveyed (49%) explained that they experience intense periods of stress, nervousness or anxiety in the summer because of their body complexes (compared to 29% of men).
- People who like their physique the least are logically the most exposed to problems. 61% of them say they have already been stressed and anxious as summer approaches. The rate drops to 35% among those who appreciate their body.
With the approach of the beautiful days, the covers on the “summer body” and the infallible methods to lose your extra pounds are multiplying. But beyond the tips for having a slender figure, the expectations of society seem above all to give complexes to the French and weigh down their mental health.
Summer body: a major source of complex and discomfort…
THE survey carried out by Ifop for the agency specializing in data FLASHS and the travel site Voyageavecnous.fr shows that 47% of people questioned do not like their bodies. Women (60%) are much more likely than men (33%) to experience it so badly. Moreover, this negative perception of the physical has increased sharply among the fairer sex over the past ten years. The rate was, in fact, only 46% in 2013, or 14 points more.
And if wisdom comes with the years, the complexes increase. The older women get, the more complicated their relationship with their figure becomes: 76% of those over 65 have a negative perception of it.
Moreover, this physical embarrassment persists on the beach or by the swimming pool. Nearly 7 out of 10 women (67%) and nearly 4 out of 10 men (39%) admit to being uncomfortable in a swimsuit.
“Women who don’t like their body at all identify in the first place (56%) the fact of having to present themselves in a bathing suit in front of their family or friends as the driving force behind their complexes. Next come the comparison with the physique of their friends (54%), the media pressure for the “perfect body” (46%) and the images of this type of body in magazines or social networks (41%)”, specifies Ifop in its press release. Among men, complexes are fed by the prospect of meeting and having to seduce a potential partner (81%) or even the comparison with their friends (76%).
Silhouette: summer creates anxiety and stress, especially among women
And the complexes surrounding the silhouette are far from trivial. The study reveals that the prospect of exposing oneself to the gaze of others, at the beach or at the swimming pool, is a real source of anxiety for almost half (49%) of French people. More subject to the diktat of the perfect “body” than men, nearly half of women even admit having experienced periods of stress and anxiety as summer approaches. For a large part it even created difficulties: 4 out of 10 indicate that it causes them sleep disorders. 35% of women surveyed mentioned depressive episodes.
“Unsurprisingly, people who don’t like their bodies are the most affected by this type of disorder. They are thus 69% to have felt at least one before the summer period against 44% among those who appreciate their body. In particular, they are twice as likely (53% against 24%) to have cried during this period”says the survey.
Sport, diet and hair removal: the body summer recipe
Show their body during the summer period being a source of recurring anxiety, the vast majority tries to prepare for it (93% of women and 78% of men). More than 8 out of 10 women indicate that they make a special effort in terms of their hair growth. The rate is only 49% among men. On the other hand, these gentlemen are more inclined to take out their sports shoes when the warm weather approaches. 65% of them practice physical activity before summer, ie 6 points more than among women.
On the other hand, French women pay more attention to their diet: 59% of them go on a diet for the summer holidays compared to 46% of men. They are also more likely to prepare their tan (47% against 38%).
However, body positive seems to be gaining ground on “Summer Body”. “For example, women say they do less sport in 2023 than in 2017 (-14 points in 6 years) and men distance themselves from diets (-12 points over the same period)”warns Ifop in its study.
