With a new year under foot, it's inevitably the season of self-improvement. Everyone has big goals for 2023. Juice cleanse ingredients are flying off the shelves, we're cutting back on alcohol, revisiting a morning meditation practice, making laser hair removal appointments, and much more! As the focus turns to "new year, new you," we should also make space to be grateful for ourselves just as we are, loving every little part that makes us whole. So let's put a couple heaping scoops of body positivity into our smoothies and celebrate what makes us unique and beautiful. To further explore this subject of body positivity, we recently surveyed more than 1,000 Americans about how they feel about their bodies and which parts they love most.

Key Findings

  • People love their eyes, hair, lips, butt, and calves the most.
  • Over two-thirds (70%) of people who love their body report having a happy and healthy sex life.
  • An overwhelming 90% of people say they could be more body positive.

An Overview of Body Positivity in the U.S.

There's no question, we've got some work to do. Less than half of Americans (46%) feel confident in their body, and 9 in 10 admit they could be more body positive. Most Americans believe this problem is not unique to our country, but when asked which other countries they think of as more body positive, they frequently cited France, Brazil, Sweden, Mexico, and Spain. Forty-nine percent of Americans make no specific efforts to reinforce body positivity. The other half focus on physical care and pampering (40%), positive self talk (23%), and fashion (13%). Less than 5% turn to art or social media to express body positivity.  

Our Favorite Body Parts

When asked which parts of their body people like most, the top answers were eyes (34%), hair (18%) and lips (6%). Butts, calves, and shoulders each earned 4% of the vote as well. What about the parts we care least about? Ankles, knees, lower back, and neck each got zero votes. Some people grow to love features they didn't always appreciate. Maybe a partner helped them feel more positive, or they just got older and wiser. In cases of learned-to-love-it, Americans most often cited hair (12%), nose (9%), breasts (8%), butt (6%), and eyes (6%). Whether we want to get in shape, achieve a certain look, or simply boost confidence, we put a lot of effort into our bodies, from working out to hair removal to nutrition. (And yes, maybe we get an occasional assist from technology. Looking at you, Coolsculpting.) We asked Americans which parts of their bodies they put the most effort into. Hair, tummy, and teeth were the top three responses.

Validation and Effort for Our Bodies

While it may require some effort, you will likely find that increasing body positivity is worth the effort. Learning to appreciate yourself can result in increased confidence, a greater sense of freedom, and, apparently, better sex! Our survey showed that a significant percentage (70%) of Americans who love their body report having a happy and healthy sex life. In fact, your feelings about your body may hold even more importance than what your body actually looks like. Only one in three of those who consider themselves "more attractive than most other people" say they have a happy sex life. While self-love is important, it helps if your significant other loves your body too. In fact, only one in four people report not needing a partner to validate any part of their body for them to love it. That means a substantial 75% of us need validation from our partner. The butt (12%) leads the list of body parts we need validated.

Conclusion

Sometimes it can help to work on a certain part of your body (or have our board-certified dermatologists do the work), in order to feel more confident about it. Other times, it may be better to just learn to accept and love it. In either case, the goal is the same: body positivity, health, happiness, a long life, and of course, great sex! From the team at LaserAway, we wish you a positively fabulous 2023. Methodology: On December 1, 2022, we surveyed 1,003 people in the U.S., asking a range of questions related to body positivity. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 with 95% confidence. Of our respondents, 49% were female, 49% were male, and 2% were nonbinary. Forty-seven percent of respondents were ages 26-41, 21% were 18-25, 21% were 42-57, and 11% were 58-76.