Too shy to strip in front of a man
By DUNCAN ROBERTSON - Last updated at 10:54am on 28th March 2007

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Comments (29)


A third of women are too shy to take their clothes off in front of their
partners


A third of women think they are too fat ever to appear naked in front of their
partners, according to a survey.


Images of stick-thin models and digitally-slimmed celebrities are convincing a
whole generation to keep their clothes on at all times.


Experts believe the compulsion to cover up is putting a serious strain on
domestic relationships, with one woman in ten having to turn out the light
before she can undress in front of her partner.


Some of the most awkward encounters happen in the bathroom - with nearly a
quarter of females never entering with their other half.


Of those who do, around a third said they felt self-conscious about being seen
in the nude. According to the survey of 3,500 women for a bathroom equipment
company, one in ten is so body-shy she will even lock the bathroom door to avoid
her partner bursting in.


Despite all this, almost all women interviewed agreed that it was vital that a
couple felt comfortable naked together. Men seem largely immune to the
insecurities afflicting their girlfriends and wives, and are happy spending
almost double the amount of time being naked in an average day.


They are so fond of being naked that more than two-thirds said they regularly
walk around the house with nothing on.


Even though 46 per cent of women confess they like to do the same, a third of
these said they would never wander naked where their partner could see them.


It is the same in the gym, where 79 per cent admitted they had hang-ups
showering and changing in front of other women.


Jill Parkinson, from www.shuc.com, the company which commissioned the research,
said: "It's shocking how self-conscious people are about being naked in front of
their partners - especially when it comes to the bathroom.


"This shows how seriously people think about their body image - yet being
bare-skinned is such a natural thing."


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29 people have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below.

This is so typical of the media making typical women feel bad about themselves
by persistently using ultra skinny models. When you look at older artwork such
as oil paintings from 100-200 years ago, the women were always more rounder and
much more prettier (in my opinion) than the models they use today.

I think most men prefer their women with a little extra padding rather than just
skin and bones - it's just that they feel the ultra skinny types give them more
"cred" with their friends and peers.

- Nick (Ex-Pat), Texas, USA

The majority of British women are fat. They're embarrased enough to hide -
understandable - but still not motivated to stop eating and get fit. Why not? Is
it because apologists and agony aunts in UK newspapers say being 'heavy' is OK
or men really want full figured women? 99% of men want a healthy, fit, firm
woman without an ounce of fat on her. Similarly 99% of women want men with
washboard stomachs. Genarally there is no excuse for being fat because walking
and running is free.

In HK British women visually stand out from Aussies/N.Zealanders/Europeans
because they're fat - great advertisment for the UK!

- Matt, Hong Kong

Don't do "jammys", neither does the wife, except in Hospital or lay them at the
bottom of the bed when on holiday or the grandkids are staying - just in case.

- Drew., Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway.

Who's perfect? Not many hands going up I expect. Don't these women realise how
good it'd be for their relationship and self esteem for their partners to see
and compliment them on their wobbly bits? I'm non symetrical in a certain
department but the only problem this causes is hubby can't decide which one he
likes the most. I think I'd have been tempted to have surgery if it weren't for
his wonderful and genuine comments. As it stands I'm perfectly happy with myself
and it's all down to him.

- Anon, UK

I have absolutely no problem stripping off in front of a partner. Unfortunately,
I do have a problem in finding a partner to strip off in front of.

- Anon, London

I'm a UK size 6 and I HATE it, last year I was a size 8 and even then I felt I
was too thin, but due to stress I lost a lot of weight last summer and am now a
6. I can't see how a man could be attracted to a stick insect over a voluptuous
woman.

I think the more newspapers and magazines go on about size zero, the more
girls/women want to be stick thin. In England, the newspapers and magazines just
go on and on about issues an more often than not, they are causing further
issues than doing good. Thin women are not attractive, I hate getting undressed
in front of men, I actually don't feel all that feminine because of the fact
that I don't have curves.

- Sb, Guildford, Surrey

Many thanks to Matt in HK for his comprehensive cover of what UK men want. Being
simulataneously so sure and so far away is a great talent.

I personally know plenty of men who prefer women curvy. In the same vein, I know
men who like tall, short, skinny, blonde, redhead or brunette girls. They only
have one thing in common - they love girls with self-confidence.

Goes to show, doesn't it?

- Lorrie, Manchester

My dear wife has had to put up with the unappealing sight of me undressed for
many years.

Fortunately she is forgiving and non-judgemental.

- Richard Tracey, Dinan, France

Many thanks to Matt in HK for highlighting what 99% of women want. I must fall
in to the remaining 1% as a washboard stomach doesn't feature on my list at all.
Compassion, sensitivity, sense of humour, no, it's not there. Not a hint of a
stomach.

- Julie, Manchester

Oh for goodness sake girls! Go to France for a long stay and see just how women
there are utterly at ease with themselves, self confident, stylish, and
gorgeous.

- Roy, Southend, UK

Fortunately, there are men who like women who are genuine with a nice
personality, and don't mind what shape they are!

- Anonymous, UK

According to Matt from Hong Kong, 99% of men want a fit firm woman without an
ounce of fat on her. Enjoy your men's mags Matt because that's the only place
you'll find one. It will no doubt come as a big surprise to you that real women
don't have staples across their stomachs. If you have a woman in your life does
she airbrush herself everyday? Consider rejoining planet earth.

- Tracey Jane Donnelly, Paisley, Scotland

As part of therapy you have to confront your fears. In the absence of any other
men, I'll volunteer to watch loads of women stripping off in front of me!
Big, small, I love 'em all, (except my ex, haha). The other solution is to join
a naturist society. You will be welcome as a person, and will soon see that
no-one notices your imagined defects.

- Danny, Pendine, Wales

If you're not happy with the way you look, change it. Don't blame the media for
your insecurities. You'd think women were being forced to buy Heat and look at
these images. Maybe you enjoy seeing these twigs in magazines, pitying yourself
and reaching for yet another slice of chocolate gateau to ease your guilt. I'm
with Matt in Hong Kong, the majority of British women are fat. It's not healthy
being a size 0 but it's not healthy to be large either.

- Carys Mathews, Chester, UK

One has to ask the question why these women are considering stripping off at all
front of men to whom they're not married. Find a man who loves you, marry him
and then strip off.

- Sue, Manchester, England

Matt (Hong Kong), you're so mistaken about UK women. The majority of them are
NOT fat. Many are obese but not the majority, plus who are you to state that 99%
of men want women with no fat? The men I've spoken to are abhorred by women who
are merely skin and bone. It's attitudes like yours that cause women to stick
their tongues down their throats in the first place. You really make me sick.

- Jenny, Glasgow, Scotland

Is Sue in Manchester living in 2007, with the rest of us?

- Ella, Wilmslow, Cheshire

Matt's comments have really upset me. You find a man who's got it all - the
washboard stomach, the enviable knowledge of what both men AND women want and,
to top it off, a really charming way with words - only to discover he lives
6,000 miles away in Hong Kong! It's a cruel, cruel world.

- Emmie, Warwickshire

Matt - you're a real treasure aren't you - do you ever actually get any women
into your bedroom with that attitude? As far as I know, what people enjoy most
is someone who is comfortable with themselves, no matter what size or shape they
are. The men I know want someone warm and loving, a cold hearted emotionless
woman is a big no-no for any more than one night, no matter what she looks like.
I don't think this has anything to do with weight, just insecurity, which can
happen to anyone.

- Kirsty, Rochester, Kent

How do you stick your tongue down your throat?

- Belinda, Johannesburg, South Africa

This article isn't about being fat or thin just suffering with a lack of
self-confidence. Confidence is sexy: you could have a body to die for but if you
hide away under a duvet or behind a locked bathroom door whose gonna see it?
Oh and Matt from HK: please stay there your comments are neither representative
or clever. Your partner (if you have one) has my unending sympathy lest she ever
fail to meet your standards. I wonder how often you live up to hers?

- Scarlett, Brighton

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the nearer the bone the sweeter the meat,
all the old clichés spring to mind, what one is, one cannot change. I feel sorry
for those that go through life having to worry about such things. Enjoy what you
are, not what you think you should be, there are many people worse off than you.

- Robert G., Derbyshire U K

To those who comment about men preferring women with curves over "stick insects"
and suchlike, I believe they would pass exact same nasty remarks as those
western female expatriates about Far East [and that includes Filipino, Malay,
Indonesian, South-east Asian Chinese] women AND men who are naturally skinny.

Not a day passes without these female expatriates and trailing expat spouses
whinging about the dearth of clothes in Asia that fit them. No thanks to the
tiny "stick insect" Oriental women - which is an oxymoron. I don't see why
Asian/Far East manufacturers should make western-sized clothes specially for
these expats?

If you are fat or obese or whatever, you cannot fault us for making you look or
feel terrible. It is your self-esteem that you need to work on.

- Anget, Singapore

British women, too fat? Of course they are. And it's not like they have an
engaging, out-going personality to compensate. On the third-world Asian
backpacker trail, Brit chicks are about the hardest to engage in casual
conversation. It's like you're invisible and they are deaf. They wouldn't
respond if you were the last man on Earth on Earth's last day. And when you live
in Japan, the contrast is even starker. Guys, it's a whole lot greener on the
other side of the fence.

- Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Japan

It's not just women who are influenced. My boyfriend looks at pictures of women
who have enormous chests but otherwise are skinny. He says my body is not normal
or at least something is missing. And he asks me why someone who is so pretty
can't have a body like the women he looks at.

I'm 5'4 and 8 and a half stone. I don't have a big chest but otherwise I am well
proportioned and I have a pretty face.

All I can say was that I was never held up to such standards of femininity in my
life before and it made me seriously consider getting breast implants. My
confidence was also gone for a very long time after he started in on me.

Luckily, I had the idea in my head that I am beautiful no matter what one
person's preference happens to be. Thanks, mom! And I am trying to get myself to
a place where I don't question my beauty by what is missing.

It is sad though to still feel that I am missing something a little.

- Saddened, UK

I, myself, am a curvy woman... I am comfortable in my own skin being confident
in my own skin makes me attractive to the opposite sex and am disgusted by Matt
from HK comments. How dare you try and pigeon-hole all women by saying they must
be skinny in order to strip tease. I have many female friends who have bodies
like Elle yet they would not dare striptease because they are so negative about
there appearance because of fools like you and what the media deems as
beautiful. I'm a classically curvy woman and I turn heads because I'm
comfortable being me.

- Natasha, Brighton

Everybody should spend some time on a naturist beach. It could change how you
feel about yourself and change your outlook on life. I do every chance I get.

- Alan, Leeds

There are two types of bodies.. a heavenly body and a physical body and its
whatever is inside that counts and comes with us when our time on earth is over
so those of you who worry day in day out about what you look like. Absolutely
pointless!

- C.C, UK

There must be something wrong with a relationship if you are not comfortable
enough to be naked in front of your other half.

- Carline, England

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