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British women feel ‘ugly’ from just six years old

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Some women first felt ugly as a result of an adult telling them they were so [Photo: Pexels]

As a woman, loving yourself and your body can feel like a constant battle.

And sometimes it feels like that battle has been going on forever; long before we were adults and for many, before we were even teens.

In fact, according to a new survey, the average age at which women begin to feel ‘ugly’ is when they’re just six years old.

Girls playing
What can be done to improve girls’ self-confidence? [Photo: Pexels]

Research carried out by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk also found that women first compared themselves to others at the younger age of five.

Quizzing 2,401 British women aged 18 and over about how they felt about themselves and beauty culture, the deals website asked them what had made them feel ugly for the first time.

A third (33%) of respondents said they were called ‘ugly’ by other children at school, while 27% were called so by their siblings – and 25% were mocked at school for their appearance and/or clothes.

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Many feel a rise in technology encourages girls to judge themselves on how they look [Photo: Pexels]

An alarming 15% even experienced an adult telling them they were ugly.

Looking at later on in life, the women were also asked what age they began to feel comfortable in their own skin.

More than half (57%) of respondents said that was between the ages of 18 to 30 years old, while 14% found themselves so after the age of 31.

Just over a tenth of the women found confidence between the ages of 11 and 17 years old.

And, sadly, 17% said they were still to find that confidence.

Woman at window with phone
Instagram has been previously linked to low self esteem [Photo: Pexels]

But these women also had something to say about the role that technology and celebrity culture has towards young girls’ self image.

When asked if they felt enough was being done to help increase the confidence and self image of young girls within the UK, 94% stated they didn’t think it was the case.

When it came to what they felt young girls were being let down by, 52% blamed the rise of technology, 31% school life and the remaining 17% celebrity culture.

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