[floatr]...going out and complementing the next 100 Japanese women I meet today....

CanWest News Service, Wednesday, April 12, 2006
The most educated and empowered generation of women in history can still be rendered vulnerable by a bad hair day, according to a study released today.
The 10-country survey revealed that two-thirds of females aged 15 to 64 will disengage from normal activity if they feel badly about their looks....
....Worldwide, one in four women has passed on a social event, one in five has shunned physical activity, and others have avoided joining a club (18 per cent), going to a job interview (16 per cent), or hitting the beach, spa or swimming pool (29 per cent) because they experienced discomfort with their looks.
"The extent to which girls and women are changing their lives to accommodate how they feel about themselves is really alarming," says Sharon MacLeod, spokesperson for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which commissioned the survey.
The bleakest statistics are from Japan, where 94 per cent of women have disengaged from normal activity because of how they look: nearly half (49 per cent) have avoided giving an opinion, 51 per cent have avoided a doctor's visit, and 61 per cent have avoided, or would avoid, a job interview...more....