In a survey released last week by tescodiets.com, 19 out of 20 British women say they would prefer a smaller waist than a genius-level IQ. The wish list of the average British women (in order) was a slimmer figure, bigger bank balance followed by dinner with an A-list star of her choice, with increased intelligence being way down the list.This all raises the question, has feminism freed us from anxiety over appearance, as it was once supposed it would?

As we sit watching UK Celebrity Big Brother, in which most of the women chosen has very low IQ's, but were all busty, and knew how to flirt their way to the top, have we decided to give up on brains and return to the beauty game? These were all issues raised by Rowan Pelling in The Independent, who was brought up in the midst of feminism, reading The Female Eunch, Fear of Flying, Fat is a Feminist Issue and Fay Weldon novels, and goes so far as to say she despises her own sex for being so superficial. It is a point of concern for New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd also, who writes about the rise of the cosmetics industry in her new book 'Are Men Necessary?' ''There was a time, long ago and far away. when women didn't only talk about skin. They talked about books, plays and politics.'' She comes to the conclusion that ''Feminism has been defeated by narcissism.''

'Beauty or intelligence? It's a no brainer'