"A thousand women were recently surveyed on the topics of beauty and confidence. The Dove Body Confidence Census 2012, conducted in the UK among women aged 18 to 64, suggests that low self-esteem apparently runs quite high. “If you ask a normal woman on the street how she describes herself — her looks, her body — the biggest response that comes back is that she feels average,” said a spokesperson for Dove in an interview with Female First. “Only 2 percent of women are saying, ‘I’m beautiful’ and only 1 in 10 are saying, ‘I feel attractive.’ That’s just not where we want to be.”" - Surprisingly Monstrous from Bookmarklet

This is my shocked face. - Spidra Webster

I am shocked that is only 2% :( I expected low, that is crazy low. - Michael W. May

When bombarded by women with BMI of 14 as the norm, uhm yes. For myself, when seeing images of someone in my age group either photoshopped, softened, shadowed, plastic surgery re-youthed. I can see where women are given conflicting feelings. - Janet:#TeamMonique

I am with MWM, I expected it to be low, but nowhere near that low. - Tamara J.

Aren't most people average? Isn't that how you'd define average? - Amit Patel

When I'm out and about, I see "everyday" women who strike me as beautiful, but not in the way that media would have us believe. I'm often tempted to just walk up to one and say "You have a lovely face!" (or words to that effect.) But I don't because I figure I'll be viewed as a creep or a masher. Maybe I need to actually do it once in awhile. #ProllyGetArrested - Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ

jkram, I have that temptation sometimes too, but honestly why are we so focused on appearance? Telling a stranger she has a lovely face seems to be reinforcing the central problem, that for some reason in our society, a woman's appearance is more important than her personality. So yes I agree with the article that low self-esteem is a problem, but maybe the basis for that problem in the first place is how much of an emphasis we place on the importance of being attractive. - Stephen Mack #TeamMomo

Too bad it's not a scientific study. I would love to know the race, age & income breakdown of these women or if it's a general thing across the UK. Most of my femake friends are highly educated black & Latina women and we *know* we look wonderful. Our white and Asian friends usually have the body image issues. - Anika from FFHound!