A woman’s body is public property, like it or not

Dawn of a new era: French has lost seven-and-ahalf stone in the last three years

Dawn French has been praised by fans on Twitter for her new, slimline look. Apparently the comic has lost seven-and-a-half stone in the last three years. One tweet called her a ‘sexy beast’. Another asked where she had gone. A woman apparently disappearing is the height of compliments.

The lovely Holly Willoughby has also lost weight and is being slammed by people on Instagram for looking too thin. All these ladies did was pose for photographs – neither invited comment. But a woman’s body is public property, whether she chooses it to be or not. This week, I received an email from a man saying he almost couldn’t finish my book – not because he thought it bad (a perfectly reasonable criticism) but because he Googled a picture of me and decided I wasn’t as ‘hot’ as he imagined. Such a charmer!