New data from The Body Shop’s Global Self-Love Index reveals more than four in ten LGBTQ+ people are twice as likely to have low self-love

As the nation celebrates Pride, The Body Shop has launched a powerful new film starring two of UK’s most sensational Queens in a previously unseen light – The Reverse Roast. The hilarious, yet deeply heartwarming feature sees Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi flip the time-honoured Roast tradition on its head. Rather than savage takedowns, the Queens are tasked to build each other up with affirmations of self-love, and compliments of the highest order, as a reminder of just how fabulous we all are – no matter what society may say.

Following the shock of finding out they wouldn’t be ‘Roasting’ in the traditional sense, the Queens initially struggle with giving, and most importantly, receiving, true and meaningful compliments. Over the course of the film, viewers will be delighted to watch as the Queens swiftly warm up and relish in the power of lifting each other up. From ‘your soft and gorgeous eye make-up’ and ‘being such an amazing singer’ to ‘letting your voice be your voice and letting your talent speak for itself’ the adoration comes pouring. The film ends with the crucial message – ‘when we remind others just how amazing they are, we remind them, to remind themselves.’

The film has been launched as The Body Shop reveals that LGBTQ+ communities in the UK suffer lower levels of self-love than the rest of the population, with more than four in ten of those that identify as LGBTQ+ nearly twice as likely to have low self-love compared to their cisgender and/or heterosexual peers1. Furthermore, the British beauty brand discovered that 46% of LGBT+ people consider themselves a failure, compared with 25% of heterosexual people.

The eye-opening findings are the latest results from the company’s worldwide research – The Body Shop Global Self Love Index*, which revealed that 40% of LGBTQ+ people worldwide are facing a self-love crisis. The results identified that in those countries facing a self-love crisis* – with one in two people admitting that, on a scale of one to ten, where one is self-loathing and ten is self-love, they were below five – LGBTQ+ communities were among the lowest ranking in every country surveyed.

The LGBTQ+ community is also known to experience mental health issues at greater rates than non-LGBTQ+ counterparts, with half of those that identify as part of the community suffering from depression in the past year2, and two in five experiencing verbal or physical harassment for simply being who they are and for who they love3. Here in the UK, MindOut, a mental health service part of an LGBTQ+ helpline partnership, states that for the last 6 months the partnership has collectively responded to requests for help every 9 minutes. Furthermore, the demand for LGBTQ+ webchat support has doubled since October 2020, demonstrating the growing pressures the pandemic has had on the community.

Additional key findings of The Body Shop’s Global Self-Love Index include:

In the UK, 36 per cent of bisexual people are dissatisfied with themselves, compared with an average of 31 per cent for LGBTQ+ people, and only 19 per cent of heterosexual people
Globally, almost half (48 per cent) of LGBTQ+ women rank in the bottom 25 per cent for self-love, compared with 39 per cent of LGBTQ+ men. For heterosexual men and women, the figures are 26 per cent and 25 per cent
Over half of LGBTQ+ people across the 22 countries surveyed think they’re “at times no good at all”, compared with 33 per cent of heterosexual people

The study also shows that whilst family and children are a source of high confidence for heterosexual people, this is not the case for many LGBTQ+ people. Nearly 1 in 4 (37%) of heterosexual people cite family as a source of high confidence; this figure is only 25 per cent for gay and bisexual people. The high rates of homelessness amongst young LGBTQ+ people – who make up 24% of the young homeless population – are often attributed to this lack of support and breakdown of the family unit4.

Globally, The Body Shop is using the findings to drive a global self-love uprising and create more positive and long-lasting change in the world, particularly for women and girls, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, the two groups disproportionately affected by low levels of self-love. Here in the UK, the British beauty brand is continuing its ongoing partnership with MindOut, providing additional funding to support the growing demand for the organisation’s on-line support service.

Drag Queen and co-star of The Body Shop’s Reverse Roast Challenge Lawrence Chaney said: “Self-Love isn’t something that comes naturally to a lot of people in the LGBTQ+ community and I’ve had my fair share of battles with self-doubt. It’s important to remember to tell the people around you how amazing they are, and if you ever find yourself questioning your own self-worth, look in the mirror and have a moment to appreciate how FABULOUS you are.”

Fellow Drag Queen and co-star of The Body Shop’s Reverse Roast Challenge Tia Kofi added “As much as I love a savage roast, the beauty of a compliment goes a long way, and it was an absolute blast to work alongside one of my closest Queens to build each other up and put self-love in practice. However you are celebrating this Pride season, remember to remind yourself that you are loved, no matter what your age, race, orientation, ability, or gender.”

The Body Shop is calling on LGBTQ+ people to focus on self-love this Pride season and is encouraging anyone outside the LGBTQ+ community to become a better ally – simply by celebrating and reminding their friends and family members within the community of how amazing they truly are.

Erica Rose, spokesperson from The Body Shop Together LGBTQ+ Network, said: “The Body Shop recognises that everyone is at a different point in their journey to becoming an active ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Whilst progress has been made, there is still a lot of work to be done. This Pride, we’re delighted to work with Lawrence and Tia to inspire everyone to rise up in self-love. We hope this film encourages everyone to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and to listen, support, and engage. Together, we can create a better, more inclusive future.“

Helen Jones, CEO of Mindout, said: “MindOut has been working so hard this last year responding to more requests for help than ever before. Many people’s mental health has been severely affected by the pandemic, and LGBTQ+ communities especially hard hit. Our out-of-hours online service offers a vital, accessible support service for LGBTQ+ people experiencing mental health issues, open every day. So many of our callers are suffering alone, living in unsafe housing, feeling suicidal and desperate. The Body Shop’s research into self-love shows what an impact this has on our communities. It’s wonderful to see stars like Laurence and Tia giving us permission to love ourselves and each other, it’s a brilliant film and we are so grateful to The Body Shop for their continued support for our work.”

The Body Shop’s Self-Love Uprising aims to inspire 1,000,000 acts of Self-Love in its first year, targeting communities whose Self-Love is under threat. To find out more, please visit the Self-Love Hub here. You can also visit MindOut to find out how you can donate and support your local LGBTQ+ community.