JANET STREET-PORTER: Sorry ladies, but why do modern women need BIG HAIR to prove they’re feminine? Miss France and – quelle horreur! – her pixie cut shows beauty is more than just a blow-dried mane

The most popular hairstyle in 2023 (as worn by our future Queen) is a massive mane of blow-dried waves falling well past your shoulders. It takes hours to achieve, jumbo rollers, backcombing and even includes hidden extensions if you’re a bit lacking in volume. A twice weekly trip to the hairdressers (if only!) seems essential to keep this high maintenance look up to scratch.

Where did the BIG DO come from? Think of a lion’s mane crossed with a mermaid. Botticelli’s Venus wearing three wigs at once. Raquel Welch in Planet of the Apes. A drag queen.

It might be the hot look at the moment, but to me, big hair is terribly retro. It weighs a ton, requires a lot of maintenance and can never get wet.

From the Royals to most of the female contestants on Love Island, to our ambitious new ‘levelling up Minister Esther McVey, TV presenters like Cat Deeley and Tess Daly – all BIG HAIR adopted – the look seems to show you mean business. Your hair is making a big statement on your behalf.

It’s even reached the House of Lords where Bra Queen Baroness Michelle Mone is sporting the ‘do as she tries to waffle her way out of the hole she finds herself in regarding a highly profitable contract supplying PPE.

The most popular hairstyle in 2023 (as worn by our future Queen) is a massive mane of blow-dried waves falling well past your shoulders. Pictured: The Princess of Wales arriving for a Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London on December 8

From the Royals to most of the female contestants on Love Island, to our ambitious new ‘levelling up Minister Esther McVey, TV presenters like Cat Deeley (pictured) and Tess Daly – all BIG HAIR adopted – the look seems to show you mean business. Your hair is making a big statement on your behalf

It’s even reached the House of Lords where Bra Queen Baroness Michelle Mone (pictured) is sporting the ‘do as she tries to waffle her way out of the hole she finds herself in regarding a highly profitable contract supplying PPE

It’s strange that, at a time when women are regularly encouraged to believe they can do anything, that we must reach for the stars and aim high, that we must live their best lives and fulfill our dreams – THE VAST MAJORITY OF YOUNG WOMEN WANT EXACTLY THE SAME HAIRSTYLE.

READ MORE: The cat-loving beauty queen who sparked a ‘woke row’: Miss France winner Eve Gilles whose pixie haircut has sparked outrage reveals she STRETCHED her body to meet the 5ft 7in entry requirements… as pictures emerge of her VERY long hair as a child

To be honest, a look that’s not very different from Barbie.

From Adele, to Beyonce, and – its biggest fan- the Princess of Wales, to almost every single beauty queen, big hair has come to mean you’re on trend, expressing your power and femininity in a thoroughly modern way.

Sadly, the big hair trend – when filtered down to the high street – has resulted in thousands and thousands of clones, with the same suspiciously full lips, the same statement eyebrows, and the same mysteriously contoured and shiny skin. Almost like sex dolls.

From Norwich to Newcastle, Edinburgh to Exeter, Hoxton to High Wycombe, every time you see a pack of young women dressed up for a night out in a city centre in 2023, they will all look predictably similar.

Is this what my generation fought so hard for? We wanted equality of opportunity at work and equality of representation in politics. The right to express your unique character and succeed no matter what you looked like. Diversity was our theme – everyone had to right to express themselves as they wished.

Big hair might be trendy at the moment but it has also come to represent the traditional view of what is beautiful. It’s hard to believe, that in 2023, beauty contests still exist, where women parade up and down and are judged on their looks, but they still take place and are viewed on television by millions of (mostly male) fans.

In spite of including rounds about skills, and helping others, some beauty contests have a rigid notion of what are the acceptable qualities needed to win. This week, there was a huge uproar on the other side of the channel, when Eve Gilles, 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais was crowned Miss France, watched live by 5,000 fans in a stadium in Dijon and 7.5 million viewers on national television.

This week, there was a huge uproar on the other side of the channel, when Eve Gilles (pictured), 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais was crowned Miss France, watched live by 5,000 fans in a stadium in Dijon and 7.5 million viewers on national television

JANET STREET-PORTER: Sorry ladies, but why do modern women need BIG HAIR to prove they’re feminine? Miss France and – quelle horreur! – her pixie cut shows beauty is more than just a blow-dried mane

READ MORE: Miss France beauty pageant becomes embroiled in bizarre row after judges are accused of going ‘woke’ by crowning ‘androgynous’ contestant with pixie cut hairstyle as winner for first time in history… with even French politicians weighing in

In the past, every Miss France since the contest started 103 years ago has had long hair, and plenty of it. Not to mention curves. Eve, who is at University in Lille studying maths and computer science, has a short, dark pixie cut, an elfin face and beautiful eyes. In short, she is slender, astonishingly pretty and has an expressive lively manner. But none of those attributes have placated the miseries and grumps who claim the contest has been hijacked by the ‘woke’ brigade.

Critics are saying it’s not ‘traditional’ and accused organisers of rigging the vote and ‘feminist-washing’. The new Miss France has been criticised as androgynous and having a ‘lack of shape.’

For shape we can substitute the words big breasts.

Supporters have pointed out that beauties like Linda Evangelista and Audrey Hepburn had a similar glamourous slender appeal.

The public could only cast a third of the votes, and in the end it was the seven female judges who decided to break with tradition. One MP – disgusted by the furore – complained that ‘in France in 2023, we judge women by the length of their hair’.

But we do in the UK too. In spite of elfin icons like Audrey Hepburn, Mia Farrow, Twiggy and the wonderful young actress Emma Corrin (who played Diana in The Crown), long hair is still regarded by the masses as somehow more feminine.

My argument is that long hair imprisons women, leaves them carrying around a big weight on their heads, with every bit carefully twisted and styled to unnatural perfection, and might show you’ve not found a better way to spend your time.

The new Miss France wants to qualify as a statistician and says her victory is a win for diversity- and her hairstyle is seen a symbol of the MeToo movement in France. She’s brainy, sharp as a tack and a great choice who might inspire young girls to break out of the confines of the ‘beauty’ mould.

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