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Original poster

Because we know this is what's important for women.

94 replies

SueBaRoomForAMincePie · 19/12/2007 09:42

This drives me crackers.

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 19/12/2007 11:10

I always feel like sticking her under the shower (the way I feel about my stepsons), her hair and skin always look greasy

MerryAnnSinglemas · 19/12/2007 11:11

daily mail is absolute shite

SantaBabyBeenAnAwfulGoodGirl · 19/12/2007 11:12

anna babe that is a bit bitchy

and unless you see someone in rl u cant tell really what with flash lights etc

Kathyate6mincepies · 19/12/2007 11:14

We probably have different understandings of what 'frump' means then Anna - I think you could be a frump and still be neat, tidy, clean, healthy etc, it just means you're not trying to look sexy or fashionable.

Anna8888 · 19/12/2007 11:15

Not remotely bitchy and I'm only comparing her with others who manage to look sleek and mat under the camera .

SantaBabyBeenAnAwfulGoodGirl · 19/12/2007 11:16

lol think we have different understandings of bitchy hun

walkinginawinterBundleland · 19/12/2007 11:17

anna maybe she has more important things to worry about than upsetting you

CremolaFirCone · 19/12/2007 11:17

'crop haired stodge'

where do they get this crap.
revolting article

SantaBabyBeenAnAwfulGoodGirl · 19/12/2007 11:18

could be that she works hard for long hours and has lots of children and a sense of priorities

Kathyate6mincepies · 19/12/2007 11:20

When they first discussed extending the franchise to women one of the arguments expressed against it was that women would want to vote for people based on what they looked like rather than whether they were any good

edam · 19/12/2007 11:21

Oh, I do object to this idea that if women don't pay 'enough' attention to their personal appearance their abilities are questioned. Your mental capacity, your judgement and talent are not related to your looks or interest in fashion and beauty. And it's sexist - no-one ever suggested a man was bad at his job for not spending hours in beauty salon.

Anna8888 · 19/12/2007 11:22

Ruth Kelly is a member of Opus Dei and sends her child to a private school even though she professes to be a socialist.

Both those things exclude her from the realm of serious-minded politicians IMO.

Her inability to look put-together only further reinforces her other unresolved personal conflicts of interest.

madamez · 19/12/2007 11:22

I can sort of see Anna8888s point about not feeling inclined to trust a politician (or any gender) who appears in public looking thoroughly unwashed and covered in food stains. But that doesn;t mean having to worry about Botox and designer clothing to be taken seriously.

manchita · 19/12/2007 11:22

Anyway, I thought she looked prettiest in no2
Women look much nicer with long hair and a welcoming smile, don't you think ?

walkinginawinterBundleland · 19/12/2007 11:23
Hmm
walkinginawinterBundleland · 19/12/2007 11:23

@ anna, natch

edam · 19/12/2007 11:23

what do her looks have to do with her ability to do her job, for heaven's sake?

SantaBabyBeenAnAwfulGoodGirl · 19/12/2007 11:24

margaret thatcher did loads of stuff in the makeover dep didnt shye

softening herself up

tthink the women thing does seem to relate more to removing the bloke elements

edam · 19/12/2007 11:24

and as it happens, I've met her and she certainly didn't look unwashed or messy.

RubySlippedonastraymincepie · 19/12/2007 11:25

why are women always reduced to the sum of their parts or by what they wear?

you would never get this level of scrutiny about a male politician, with a series of photos highlighting his "transformation" with a headline like that

Anna8888 · 19/12/2007 11:25

madamez - indeed, Botox and too much/too obviously fashionable clothing are counter-productive. Like Berlusconi and his hair implants. Please (though we didn't need the hair implants to know he was obsessed with his appearance).

There is something called a juste milieu.

Anna8888 · 19/12/2007 11:27

Ruby - you get lots of articles about male politicians' appearance. Look at last Saturday's FT for a very good analysis of Nicolas Sarkozy.

manchita · 19/12/2007 11:28

Oh Ruby I have seen lots of these spreads on Mr Blair. She is just trying to make the best of herself now that she has a little more money perhaps?

MariNativityPlay · 19/12/2007 11:29

Well I'd not trust anyone whose judgement is based on what conditioner politicians use and how often they have a designer makeover
How superficial can you get?
Robert Kilroy Silk was famously pomaded and buffed after all - and I think most of us would prefer Sarah Brown as First Lady to honest and open Cecilia Sarkozy or politically astute Carla Bruni
I prefer my politicians to look like they mean what they say. Other than that as long as they are clean and tidy...

Kathyate6mincepies · 19/12/2007 11:29

There is more focus on male politicians' appearance than there has ever been, but I have still never seen anything on a man that has the detail and level of intensity of that analysis of Ruth Kelly.

I don't think it's an illegitimate subject for discussion, it's just that there is a massive imbalance in the amount of coverage of appearance that men and women politicians get.