Victoria Pendleton

I don't even think it's the media's fault, necessarily, or exclusively. Little girls are encouraged from every angle to carefully construct, and then to value, their femininity above all other virtues. It doesn't matter if they're brainy, or sporty, or musical: everything available to them is branded as pink, and sparkly, and princessy, and girly. When I was a kid you could at least be a tomboy; I'm not sure that they even exist anymore. Now it's all wee girls with playboy pencil cases. Who's really surprised when young women turn out to care so intensely, and so exclusively, about the way they look? The world does, too.

Not all girls are like that.

My daughter despises pink.

And she cycles.

She does want a stepper-bike though. Most worrying.