Threats to Girlhood
Threats to Girlhood
57% of all girls have a mother who reinforces self-consciousness and body issues by criticizing her own looks.59
Increased levels of stress in adolescent girls ages 10 to 15 promotes weight gain and obesity.65
71% of girls who struggle with low self-esteem “feel their appearance does not measure up, including not feeling pretty enough, thin enough, or stylish or trendy enough (compared to 29% of girls with high selfesteem).”60
The number of girls diagnosed with depression, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia is on the rise.66
78% of girls who struggle with low self-esteem “admit that it is hard to feel good in school when you do not feel good about how you look (compared to 54% of girls with high self-esteem).”61 Two out of every three diagnosis is a girl.62
13% of 9-17 year olds have an anxiety disorder. Two out of every three diagnosis is a girl.62 Almost half of all girls diagnosed with generalized anxiety will continue to struggle with anxiety as adults.63 Half of 14 and 15 year old girls in the UK feel unable to cope with the pressures of modern life.64 59 Dove Self-Esteem Fund. “Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem.” Commissioned: June 2008. http://content.dove.us/makeadiff/pdf/SelfEsteem_Report.pdf 60 Dove Self-Esteem Fund. “Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem.” Commissioned: June 2008. http://content.dove.us/makeadiff/pdf/SelfEsteem_Report.pdf 61 Dove Self-Esteem Fund. “Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem.” Commissioned: June 2008. http://content.dove.us/makeadiff/pdf/SelfEsteem_Report.pdf 62 SAMHSA National Mental Health Information Center. “Children’s Mental Health Facts Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders,” http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0006/default.asp; AnxietyBC, “Generalized Anxiety.” http://www.anxietybc.com/parent/generalized.php 63 AnxietyBC. Generalized Anxiety. http://www.anxietybc.com/parent/generalized.php 64 Womack, Sarah. “The Best Years of Our Lives? We don’t Think So.” The Telegraph. February 24, 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1484278/The-best-years-ofour-lives-We-dont-think-so.html
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1/3 of girls in the United Kingdom aged 14 and 15 report being “unhappy”.67
More woman are currently struggling with anorexia or bulimia than breast cancer.68 Eating disorders affect 70 million individuals worldwide, a disproportionate percentage of whom are girls.68 cer.69
Eating disorders have a higher mortality rate than any other mental illness.70 65 Lohman, Brenda J.; Stewart, Susan; Gundersen, Craig; Garasky, Steven; and Joey C. Eisenmann. “Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Food Insecurity and Individual, Maternal, and Family Stressors.” Journal of Adolescent Health, September 2009, Vol. 45, Issue 3, p. 230-237. 66 Hughes, Sarah. “Supergirl Meltdown: How middle-class girls today are under unprecedented pressure to succeed.” Daily Mail, October 19, 2009. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ femail/article-1221344/Supergirl-meltdown-How-middle-class-girls-today-unprecedented-pressure-succeed.html 67 Womack, Sarah. “The Best Years of Our Lives? We don’t Think So.” The Telegraph. February 24, 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1484278/The-best-years-ofour-lives-We-dont-think-so.html 68 The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders. “Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources.” September 2002, revised October 2003, http://www.renfrew.org. In: http://www.eatingdisorderinfo.org/Resources/EatingDisordersStatistics/tabid/964/Default.aspx 69 National Eating Disorder Association. In: End Fat Talk. “Stats.” http://www.endfattalk.org/stats.html 70 South Carolina Department of Mental Health, “Eating Disorder Statistics.” http:// www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm 18