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Oh boy!  I never thought I would hear details of our Premier's undercover grooming routine - but there it was.  Waxing admissions from the person in charge of our State.  Has it really come to this?

Can I tell you though, that this is not what really bothered me.  What troubles me so is that Ms Bligh responded at all.  Not only that -but what that response says to, and about, women in politics in Australia. 

I don't mean to sound femi-nazi, but she should never have answered those questions.  Not because she was, or should have been, embarrassed - many women (and men) have undergone such cosmetic procedures and will continue to do so.  No, what saddened me was that answering those questions told the world that it was okay for them to have been asked! And it clearly is not.

If Ms Bligh were Mr Bligh - no one would have asked those questions.  Answering them not only betrayed her gender, but her position as well.  She told all women (and girls) that it is okay that they are subjected to questioning in no way related to their role.  And it clearly is not.

Women and men are different.  In a general sense, we're wired differently.  In a specific sense, we are biologically different.  Taking away our male-ness or female-ness is not something we can do.  But in saying that - while we are different, we are also EQUAL.  Babies (at least at the moment!) equally require female AND male for their creation.  The survival of our species requires the equal input of men and women.

We're different - and that is okay.  But allowing herself to be subjected to an interview about her grooming habits has made Ms Bligh a little less equal - and in turn, sent a message that being a little less equal is to be expected and accepted by women and girls. 

And it clearly is not.