Are Canadian Women Comfortable in Their Skin?

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion, nine in ten (92%) Canadian women, aged between 35 and 49 say they are `comfortable in their skin'.

When asked what being comfortable in their skin means to them, 89% describe it as `being happy with who you are inside and out', while six in ten (59%) say it means just `being comfortable about how you feel on the inside'. One in three (35%) say is means `not wanting to change anything about yourself'.

Asked about a select group of Canadian women, those felt to be most `comfortable in their skin' are Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson (22%) and singer Jann Arden (18%), followed by Sarah McLaughlan (15%), Vickie Gabereau (11%), Elise Marquis (10%), and Chantel Kreviazuk (3%).

According to eight in ten Canadian women between 35 and 49 years of age, the non-verbal communication signals or body languages that most express being comfortable inside and out are a `calm and assured use of hands' (83%) and `outward physical emotion' such as hugging, patting on the back etc. (80%), followed by `standing erect' (26%).

When asked what body language they use to demonstrate that they are connecting with others, 45% use a handshake and 41% use a hug. One in four (27%) use a pat on the shoulder, while one in ten (12%) use outstretched arms.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion between July 14th and August 1st, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 504 adult Canadian women aged 35 to 49. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adult women age 35 to 54 had been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age composition reflects that of the actual population according to the 2001 Census data.

Nine in ten (92%) Canadian women, aged between 35 and 49 say they are `comfortable in their skin'.

• There are no significant differences on this question between age, education or household income groups.

When asked what being `comfortable in their skin' means to them, in total, 89% describe it as `being happy with who you are inside and out', while six in ten (59%) say it means just `being comfortable about how you feel on the inside'. One in three (35%) describe it as `not wanting to change anything about yourself'.

• Significantly more women in the highest ($60,000+) household income group (78%) mention that `comfortable in your skin' means being happy with who you are both inside and out, than do women in the lowest (less than $30,000) household income group (61%).

• More women in Alberta (17%) cite being comfortable in your skin means not wanting to change anything about yourself, first, than do their counterparts in British Columbia (1%).

Asked about a select group of Canadian women, those felt to be most `comfortable in their skin' are Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson (22%) and singer Jann Arden (18%), followed by Sarah McLaughlan (15%), Vickie Gabereau (11%), Elise Marquis (10%), and Chantel Kreviazuk (3%).

• Regionally, there are some differences in selection. In Quebec, Йlise Marquise (40%) comes out on top, while in British Columbia, Jann Arden (28%) leads the list. In Ontario, Adrienne Clarkson (26%) and Jann Arden (26%) tie as the high profile Canadian that most projects being `comfortable in her skin'. In all other regions, Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson is the top choice.

• Women aged 35 to 49 with high household income are the most likely to view Adrienne Clarkson (29%) and Jann Arden (23%) as being `comfortable in their skin', than women with lower household incomes (Adrienne Clarkson 13%; Jann Arden 10%).

According to eight in ten (83% and 80% respectively) Canadian women between 35 and 49 years of age, the non-verbal communication signals or body languages that most express being comfortable inside and out are a `calm and assured use of hands' and `outward physical emotion' such as hugging, patting on the back etc., followed by standing erect (26%).

• Women in Alberta (92%) consider a calm and assured use of hands as such a sign of expressing being comfortable inside and out more than women in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (79%) and Quebec (79%).

• Women in both Quebec (89%) and Alberta (85%) also consider physical emotion to be such a sign, more so than women in Atlantic Canada (68%).

• Women in Atlantic Canada (40%) are more likely than women in Alberta (20%) and Ontario (23%) to say that standing erect is a sign of being comfortable inside and out.

When asked what body language they use to demonstrate that they are connecting with others, 45% use a handshake and 41% use a hug. One in four (27%) use a pat on the shoulders, while one in ten (12%) use outstretched arms.

• Women in Quebec (63%) are significantly more likely than women in all other regions to say that they use a handshake to demonstrate they are connecting with others.

• Women, aged 35 to 54, from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (45%) are more likely than women in Ontario (27%), Atlantic Canada (25%) and Quebec (16%) to say that they would use a pat on the shoulder.

Please open the attached PDF files to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900