Don't call our Prime Minister 'Cindy'

Nadine Higgins on Jacinda Ardern

Ionce dared to cut my hair short. I was quite chuffed with the result too – but my email inbox exploded with emails from unhappy TV viewers.

The most memorable read ‘‘What have you done? You used to be pretty, but now you look like Helen Clark’’.

It was meant to be an insult to us both, of course. Unless you’re Katy Perry or Cara Delevingne, short hair is not a stylistic choice, but some sort of political statement or comment on your sexuality.

Our previous female prime minister copped untold flak for her hair, her teeth, daring to wear pants in the presence of the Queen – basically for being female. That far surpassed any scrutiny of the appearance of her successor, John Key, or his, Bill English (FYI they both had short hair, even if one apparently had a penchant for long hair that wasn’t his own).

I’d hoped that we might have ditched those misogynistic murmurings in the intervening decade, or at the very least held fire on the objectification for a bit given that, with a new Government, new ministers, and new policies, there’s quite a lot of other stuff to discuss.

Instead, articles proclaiming Jacinda Ardern, at 37, to be the youngest prime minister in more than 150 years were met with discussion about how old she looked for her age. The prevalence of Botox has given us an unrealistic idea about what any age looks like anymore, but that aside – who cares? Surely she’s proven herself to be worth more than the sum total of the lines on her forehead.

She doesn’t get off any lighter than Clark did in the teeth critique department either, and I even overheard a bloke in his 30s describing her clothing choices as being a bit ‘frumpy’. She might be wearing dresses, but she could dress a little better for her figure, apparently.

With the trolls infantilising her as ‘‘Cindy’’ and a meme which casts her as the groom, with Winston Peters as her bride, you have to wonder how far we’ve come at all.

We once again have the trifecta of a female prime minister, governorgeneral and chief justice, but somehow blaming an All Blacks loss on the fact someone with a vagina is running the country is still acceptable.

Ardern is resilient, of course. She rose above the womb worries of the election campaign and I’m sure she’ll laugh off the idea she has a cauldron on the ninth floor of the Beehive with Kieran Read’s hairclippings in it.

But maybe she shouldn’t ditch her long locks yet. I’m not sure the country is ready for such radical change.

I'm sure she'll laugh off the idea she has a cauldron on the ninth floor of the Beehive with Kieran Read's hairclippings in it.