Was it just a few weeks ago that Time ran a cover story claiming women were poised to become “the richer sex” – getting more education than men, working up a storm and, in one out of four marriages, bringing home the fatter slice of bacon? That was followed by Katie Roiphe’s fact-free Newsweek cover [...]
Nicolas Sarkozy promised a parity government in 2007, but failed to deliver. Five years later, newly elected president François Hollande has just done it. For the first time, France boasts as many women as men in its 34-member cabinet. It may have looked gimmicky at first; it does however feel as if a hurdle has [...]
In 2010, it appeared David Cameron had succeeded in delivering women’s votes back to the Conservative party: securing once again the support of middle- and high-income mothers of young children – those women who had turned to New Labour under Tony Blair. Since the election, the story looks less favourable for the party. Spending cuts [...]
Are men the new women? Are they having a harder time than silly moaning ladies? Has feminism gone too far? Has political correctness been put away for its own good? These are such familiar cultural tropes that we may dismiss the word trope altogether. Instead I would use another word: tripe. The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against [...]
Debate around skinniness in fashion is not new. From blogs to magazine editors to parliament, the issue of abnormally thin models comes up again and again, whether it’s Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson calling for airbrushing to be banned in advertising or Vogue Italy’s Franca Sozzani admitting that “the current inclination to embrace a female [...]
In the May number of “Harper’s Magazine” Miss Lillian Symes writes that she is growing weary of the losing game played by the modern woman. Man, she complains, has been only too ready to allow feminist doctrines to work out to his own advantage, and complacently to watch his wife assume the double burden of [...]
Bested by Britney US singer Demi Lovato (nope, we hadn’t either) must have been miffed to discover the other new American X Factor judge is world-famous pop star Britney Spears. Thunder promptly stolen. Payback time Sixty years ago the House of Commons agreed equal pay for women doing the same jobs as men. But, according [...]
Aishwarya Rai is no stranger to Cannes. The Bollywood actor and former Miss World has attended the film festival 10 times, but her appearance on the red carpet next week is set to be her most talked about. The cause of a controversy raging in India lies not with her latest film – Rai is [...]
“What has changed in cinema? Everything has changed!” exclaimed Gilles Jacob, president of the Cannes film festival, during the presentation of the 65th Cannes festival film nominations. Everything?! For one second, we trembled. But for no reason, it turned out, as the 22 officially selected movies – happy coincidence – were directed by 22 men. [...]
