Here’s a snippet from a great Indy article by Sarah Boyes on the shallow and superficial nature of morality and female role models in the 21st Century:

‘…Imposing “better” role models on society is seen as a quick fix to correct the “wrong” dreams of schoolchildren and “uncouth” behaviour of grown women. Both are seen as private people with personal problems rather than potentially public individuals who could achieve great things. The notion women might become more liberated and flourish through living their lives the way they choose runs counter to a culture which doesn’t always recognise genuine achievement, intelligence and a desire to be more free.

In this way, the discussion stays frustratingly at the level of appearance, as if dressing and behaving in a more ‘correct’ manner is all that’s needed. This both refuses to address the often complex relationship between personal appearance and deeper moral beliefs, whilst simultaneously serving to fetishise how women look and dress. The discussion takes the form of a faux-choice between burqas, bikinis or flat brown shoes: “conservative and religious”, “fun and sexually liberated” or “middle-class and sensible”…’

Full article here.