Not so long ago I went on a date with a man whose work I admired. Over dinner, we discussed local and international politics and were in perfect sync with our views. We talked religion and agreed it was not for us. He spoke of his strong belief in feminism and asked my views on how to implement policies in his business to ensure and protect women’s rights. We liked the same authors, directors and actors. Hell, he was even as obsessed with Nick Cave as I am. Talk about a meeting of the minds.

The next morning, my date sent me a text message. It was instantly deleted from my phone but I remember it verbatim. It’s hard not to. I can’t stop thinking about you, it read. You really have the most magnificent tits I’ve ever seen.

Needless to say, I did not ride into the sunset with my mammary admirer, despite his oh-so-smooth parlance. But what this sorry episode did was enforce my belief women are judged on their sex appeal before their smarts. This is not just a male attitude – females notoriously appraise each other’s appearance first and foremost, perhaps as a reaction to the adage that men are supposedly “visual” creatures while we are “emotional”. The poor blokes can’t help themselves it seems; their attitude justified as biological while for women it’s just plain bitchy.

I was reminded of my own sorry tale of boobs before brains this week when I heard that for the first time in nearly a century, Miss America contestants will not be forced to show off their “talent” in swimsuits in this year’s competition. Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor and prominent voice in the #MeToo movement in the US (she filed a harassment lawsuit against former Fox chairman Roger Ailes), is now the organisation’s chairwoman intent on updating the institution.

“I’ve talked to tons of young people who’ve said to me, ‘I’d love to be a part of that program, but I don’t want to parade around in a swimsuit,’” she said in an interview with Good Morning America, adding the event is no longer a “pageant” but a “competition” where candidates will be judged on more than just their looks. “We are not going to judge you on your outward appearance,” she said. “We are moving it forward and evolving it in this cultural revolution.”