Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Agnès Poirier

This silly ‘short hair’ row tells us much more about my country than any Miss France contestant

Eve Gilles after winning the Miss France pageant in Dijon, France, on 16 December, 2023.
Eve Gilles after winning the Miss France pageant in Dijon, France, on 16 December, 2023. Photograph: Arnaud Finistre/AFP/Getty Images

In December, Britain has pantomimes and France has silly beauty controversies. The latest one, which erupted on social networks last weekend, must be one of the most bizarre witnessed since the beginning of the Miss France pageant, 103 years ago.

Twenty-year-old Eve Gilles, the former Miss Pas-de-Calais, was crowned Miss France last Saturday. But it wasn’t just her win that dominated headlines but her short hair. Choquant, non? Critics vented their fury online that a lithe, androgynous-looking woman could take the crown as, ostensibly, France’s most beautiful woman. Some denounced it as an example of diversity gone too far. Some talked about the victory of wokery. Pardon?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.