By Nicole Haddow
"Is she a PILF?" my housemate asks casually as we assess a photo of a prominent female politician.
According to him, the "P" in the acronym he's just invented stands for "politician". Sorry to the mums responsible for the coining of the term MILF – it seems you've been superseded by dowdy-looking women with brains.
I'm amazed that he's interested in feedback from a 27-year-old hetero female, but I don't have time to form a hypothetical opinion – I'm too busy wondering why a young guy with plenty of interests outside the world of politics has even bothered to consider this woman as a sexual object at all.
The woman in question is in a position of power. She's smart, outspoken and successful. But in terms of presentation, she's mousey, conservative and plain.
This could be the ultimate joke on women. We spend all this time with the hair and make-up and EFFORT – and for what? In a world where women are working at the same intensity as men, it seems education is the new sexy.
Throw away your bikinis, ladies – grab a university degree in political science and a government job and the boys will come-a-runnin'.
When I ask what it is that makes her so appealing, my housemate explains, "Sometimes you want someone who scares you – in a good way," and a second male housemate concurs.
Are brains the new boobs?