As long as women are forced to pretend they don’t have them, until a man wants to see them, we remain as unequal as ever

Ipswich Star: Just what is the problem with boobs... while moobs are allowed to come out at almost any opportunity? Picture: WARREN PAGEJust what is the problem with boobs... while moobs are allowed to come out at almost any opportunity? Picture: WARREN PAGE

The recent hot weather seems to be abating now but it is probably worth taking a moment to consider the inequities it exposes between the sexes which still endure, despite many of my younger female colleagues telling me that feminism is no longer necessary, as they “feel equal” anyway.

Well, they’re not.

Let’s take air conditioning for example.

Air conditioning is for men, isn’t it?

According to an article in the Daily Telegraph I read the other day, air conditioning units in offices are designed for the body temperature and metabolism of a 40-year-old man, which runs up to 30% faster than a woman’s.

Most women, it argued, would be happy with a temperature that is around four degrees warmer, so it is the women who have to think about bringing in an extra jumper to make sure they are comfortable, while the man’s needs are automatically taken care of anyway.

Who would have thought that?

Meanwhile, men everywhere have been taking their tops off to enjoy the sun, while if a woman were to do the same, car crashes would increase massively (women would be blamed) and policemen would be hastening to cover us up with their helmets (except they probably don’t do that any more). Some of us would need more than one helmet, but let’s leave that aside.

Our office has been steaming of late, due to air conditioning issues, and many times I’ve suggested to my younger female colleagues that we should have a “work in your bra” day, like they do in the film Made in Dagenham, causing Bob Hoskins’ character to almost implode in embarrassment, much to the women’s delight.

No-one has supported me in this matter (apart from some of the men).

But it’s a matter of comfort, surely?

We would all feel much more comfortable working that way when it’s really hot, but for some reason this idea is seen as socially appalling.

True, none of my male colleagues would get away with it either, but I suspect the fallout would be significantly more dramatic if it was a woman doing it than if it was just some poor man sitting there topless, in preference to spending an entire day huffing and puffing and caked in sweat.

Just what is the problem with boobs... while moobs – universally agreed as far less attractive – are allowed to come out at almost any opportunity?

The Daily Mail was up in arms yesterday about a young Sports Illustrated model called Mara Martin who breastfed her six-month-old daughter on the catwalk while parading in a golden swimsuit.

Mara told Good Morning Britain that she was glad her actions had started a conversation about breastfeeding, but according to the Mail some people “on Twitter” (so not the Mail’s staff, of course) believed it to be a mere “publicity stunt” which “boosted the then unknown model’s career”.

The only reason breastfeeding is ever in the news is because some miserable git has got a problem with women getting their boobs out. These are, usually, the kind of people who either don’t have a nice pair themselves or would give anything to see a pair of boobs, but probably never will again, except when alone with a computer in a lonely bedroom.

Good on Mara, I say, for demonstrating that her breasts actually have a purpose – I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the breasts of the other scantily-clad women on the Sports Illustrated catwalk – and I doubt that was because their nipples were (just barely) covered up.

It’s time people realised that breasts are just a part of the body – with far more functionality than the male breast, let it be said – and as long as women are forced to pretend they don’t have them, until a man wants to see them, it’s chest unfair and we remain as unequal as ever.