I have to remind myself that what my daughter is expressing is her deep
cultural encoding for the myriad manifestations of Beauty. In some ways
it is touching that she is so touched by another girl’s beauty. But on
the other hand, she, like all her girlfriends, experiences levels of
insecurity about her appearance from which I’m sure her English
counterparts are be shielded. On the other hand, there is no equivalent
in France to the sheer power of British magazine culture and while
political correctness might preserve young women from physical
stereotyping, British celebrity culture certainly picks up the slack.