Girls choose substance over appearance as loneliness and body criticism take hold early

The Girl Scouts’ 2026 State of the Girl report finds girls prioritising intelligence, humour and creativity while warning that loneliness, body criticism and unequal access are shaping childhood.

Girlhood appears to be less about polish and performance than many adults assume. In Girl Scouts’ 2026 “State of the Girl” report, most girls said they admire ability over appearance, with smart, funny and creative ranking ahead of pretty, a finding that points to a clear preference for substance over surface. Yet the same research suggests that cultural pressure still pushes many girls towards narrow ideas of success, even as their own aspirations are broader and more self-defined.

The report also shows that girls remain strongly drawn to STEM, or science, technology, engineering and maths, with interest rising to 55% from 45% in 2017. That follows a longer pattern identified by the Girl Scout Research Institute, which has argued that early exposure matters because stereotypes, male-dominated workplaces and a lack of visible female role models still discourage many girls from pursuing technical fields. Girl Scouts said its own STEM programming has been built around hands-on learning for more than a century, in part to counter those barriers.

But the wider picture is not encouraging. The 2026 report says 64% of girls aged five to seven feel lonely, while 52% of girls aged eight to ten are critical of their bodies. Earlier Girl Scout research also found that many girls prefer team sports and arts-based activities because they offer connection as well as enjoyment, and that most say they play for fun rather than for victory. That matters at a time when family finances are under strain, with the report noting that more than a third of girls live below 200% of the poverty line, making fees, equipment and transport harder to afford.

Access, or the lack of it, is also shaping how girls spend their time. The report suggests many would rather be creative, outdoors or with family, but are increasingly pushed on to screens when those options are not available. Girl Scouts has previously warned that digital habits and social pressure can magnify insecurity, while the 2026 findings underline a deeper concern: loneliness, body criticism and hopelessness are all appearing early, long before adolescence is over. The message from the data is stark: girls are telling adults what they value, but the world around them is still too often steering them elsewhere.