Fathers and body confidence
Jo Swinson meets with fathers and parenting organisations to discuss fathers’ roles in promoting body confidence.
On 15 May, Minister for Women and Equalities Jo Swinson met with a group of men and women with expertise in fatherhood, parenting and body image to examine how men can act as change agents for positive body image, particularly in their role as fathers.
Those attending the meeting included academics, campaigners, bloggers and business leaders who each brought their own unique perspective to this interesting and relatively unexplored topic.
The conversation was wide-ranging and insightful and included discussion of the particular role that fathers have in promoting good body confidence in their children, the challenges that can arise in this area and how men can be better supported to help their daughters have resilient body image.
John Adams, who attended the meeting, has blogged about the meeting.
On 28 May a new report highlighting the successes of the Government’s body confidence campaign was launched at an event hosted by Women and Equalities Minister Jo Swinson and attended by a range of experts to discuss the next phase of the campaign which will include:
- developing girls’ aspirations and improving their resilience to the images they are subjected to in the media
- talking to key high street retailers to get them to champion the issue of body confidence
- launching a new front in the campaign by targeting men, particularly fathers, as supporters of girls’ body image
- continuing to work on expanding the evidence base that will inform future Government work in this area
A review of evidence into body image has also been published, which identifies what is known and proven about the causes, consequences and potential interventions associated with body image. This review provides an understanding of what research evidence is available on body image, identifies gaps in knowledge and will help to inform future work on tackling this important issue.