Me and my ‘man hair’: why Miss France gets my vote

As the French beauty pageant faces a backlash after crowning Eve Gilles the winner – despite her pixie crop – ex-Glamour editor Jo Elvin, who has had short hair for the past 20 years, reveals the real reason people don’t like it...

Some of the most beautiful women alive have had short hair – so why do we expect any different from the winner of Miss France (Getty/AFP)

Years ago, over a lovely family dinner in an Italian restaurant, my then eight-year-old daughter, Evie, turned to me and said: “Mum, some of my friends say you have man hair.” My husband nearly choked laughing at the table.

Well, it appears that little children are not alone in having a very rigid view of what constitutes “woman hair”, as evidenced by the outrage caused at the Miss France beauty pageant this week.

It’s hilarious, really – the spittle-flecked rage being directed at a woman who has had the gall to win the title when she has man – sorry, I mean short – hair. People are angry because the new Miss France, Eve Gilles, 20, is wearing her crown atop a gamine crop. Every other hopeful contestant has the same cookie-cutter, long, straight, “proper lady” bonce.