Survey: 52% of British women avoid sex because they feel fat

A survey commissioned by female-libido pill Fembido has found that fifty-two percent of British women avoid intimacy due to dissatisfaction with the appearance of their bodies. The poll revealed that unrealistic expectations about their appearance (damn you, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham, with your heroin-and-anorexia-chic ways) coupled with busy lifestyles took a toll on women's sex lives.

The Sex In The Nation survey of 4,000 people discovered that twenty-nine percent of women mentioned looking fat as a reason for saying no to sex, while another twenty-three percent put the blame on their embarrassing "wobbly bits." Whether or not these findings would apply to American women, you can be sure that American women won't be using the expression, "wobbly bits." Eight percent of males avoided sex due to fat shame, while another eleven percent let love handles and other assorted confidence-killers take them out of the game.

The biggest reason for not getting it on was fatigue, cited by seventy-two percent of women, followed by feeling unattractive (thirty-four percent), illness (thirty-three percent, which probably doesn't include phantom headaches), and stress (thirty-two percent). Of the female respondents, thirteen percent said they only had sex in the dark due to embarrassment at being glimpsed in the buff, and ten percent wanted to be kinkier but stuck with the tried-and-true out of body-part shame. Twenty percent of married people cited a low sex drive, compared to eighteen percent of those living with a partner, seventeen percent of divorcees and singles, and fourteen percent of widowers. Six percent of those married or living with a partner were flat-out bored with their sex lives, while a troubling six percent of women said they only had sex because they considered it their duty.

Psychosexual specialist Dr. Catherine Hood summed it up thusly:

"Libido is a mixture of physical and psychological factors — it's different for every woman, but there are many ways to rediscover it. Couples need to make time to rebuild that intimacy. For women who are embarrassed about their wobbly bits, it can be as simple as choosing to wear a sexy camisole top rather than being naked."