Gauntlet

Because increasingly, femininity is a performance art. It’s not enough any more just to brush your hair and wear a nice frock, there’s a whole new bag of tricks.

Stripper nails, Brazilians, Botox injected into your armpits. And we’re expected to believe this is “empowering”, a radical way of reclaiming sexuality. Of course, the media loves it when blonde women are interchangeable. Allow a woman to be original and she has power. Better to keep her pliant, terrified of being replaced by a younger rival.

— A male beauty crisis? Join our club.