AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDDOI: AARP RESEARCHMIRROR/MIRROR: AARP SURVEY OF WOMEN’S REFLECTIONS ONBEAUTY, AGE AND MEDIATMSeptember 2023https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00703.001AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCH2Table of contentsExecutive Summary3Beauty Pressures5Overcoming Pressures15Diversifying Media and Advertising22Implications28Methodology30Appendix32Contact34AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCH3EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCHExecutive summary•Most women feel some pressure to live up to today’s beauty standards. Media in general and social media are driving forces in this pressure.•And now with the availability of filters and editing tools, the pressure to be perfect increases, specifically among younger women.•All that said, perhaps the most positive learning from this study is that women have great empathy for each other, an innate understanding of what each are going through.•And with each passing year they are able to become more resistant to outside pressures and more true to themselves.•This is why it is not surprising that regardless of age, women overwhelmingly support inclusive media and advertising and feel that authenticity, in media and in themselves, is extremely important.4AARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCH5BEAUTY PRESSURESAARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCHRegardless of one’s age, most women feel beauty standards are changing.6Q2. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not at all and 10 being completely, how much have the standards that define beauty for women changed in the past 5-10 years?Base: All women Note: Sums may not equal 100% due to rounding and/or skipped responses online* Indicates a significant difference between segments at a 95% confidence levelNote: Sums may not equal 100% due to rounding and/or skipped responses onlineTotal (n=7,368)6%49%40%Ages 18–49 (n=3,853)5%49%41%*Ages 50+ (n=3,515)7%*48%39%1 (Not at all) – 34 – 78 – 10 (Completely)How much beauty standards for women have changed in the past 5–10 years (1 = not at all, 10 = completely)Among all women, total and by age rangeAARP.ORG/RESEARCH | © 2023 AARP ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAARP RESEARCH** Top 2 box, Bottom 2 boxThis has left some women, especially those younger, feeling pressure to keep up.7Q30. What degree of pressure do you feel to meet a certain set of beauty standards? 5-point scale; anchored.Base: All women * Indicates a significant difference between segments at a 95% confidence levelNote: Sums may not equal 100% due to rounding and/or skipped responses onlineNone at all (B2B)**39%28%52%*Neutral24%26%*22%A great deal (T2B)**32%41%*22%Total(n=7,368)Ages 18–49(n=3,853)Ages 50+(n=3,515)Degree of pressure felt to meet beauty standardsAmong all women, total and by age rangeAARP.ORG...
