Women at risk of forgetting debt to feminism
But even in the UK there is a danger of young women forgetting what they owe to feminism: we may not be quite as dimwitted as our Venezuelan counterparts, but there is still pressure on young women to conform to ideals of thinness and to dress like such “style icons” as Katie Price.
At the other end of the scale, of course, we have the sinister rise of the burka, a garment which is not required by genuine Islam but which some women claim to wear on the basis that it prevents men from wishing to sexually assault them (when it is quite clear that any man who regards a normally dressed woman as sexual prey ought to be in a secure mental health unit).
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Hide AdI am old enough to remember the advances made by the early feminists and would hate to believe the progress towards genuine equality – where it is normal, for example, for board members to be male and female – has stalled to the extent that women’s appearance is seen to be more important than their skills and abilities.
Dr Mary Brown, freelance education consultant, Banchory