Girls urged to follow Cleopatra not Kimmie

She is one of the richest and most famous women in the world. Beautiful and seductive, she carefully controls her own image with exquisite clothes and jewellery. Other women adore her. Many powerful men fall in love with her; others dismiss her as a ‘whore’. She is strong, confident, self-absorbed — and determined that no one will bring her down.

No, this is not Kim Kardashian West. It is Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. And when young girls are looking for role models, they should look to her, says Jane Lunnon, a leading British headteacher. ‘Cleopatra shows that you can be both flawed and brilliant,’ she explains.

She was speaking about her new project to teach girls the merits of Shakespeare’s heroines, who ‘wield power and influence in a man’s world.’ The idea came after her students named Kim Kardashian West and Taylor Swift as their biggest role models. ‘I just thought there is something concerning about this,’ she said.

Kim Kardashian West shot to fame after a sex tape was leaked without her permission in 2007. Later that year, the first episode of her family’s reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians aired. Since then she has released perfumes, apps, a fashion line, and a book of hundreds of selfies. She is the fifth most followed celebrity on Instagram, ninth on Twitter, and she is worth over $53m.

But ‘look at Rosalind, look at Beatrice, look at Viola,’ proclaims Mrs Lunnon. Those are true heroines, with ‘the capacity in challenge and dilemma and pain, to love, to be vivacious, to be resourceful, to be resilient… It’s not that terrible things happen to them, it’s how they respond.’

These are crucial questions. Last week, a survey found that young women are at the highest risk of mental health issues in England. Another found that girls as young as seven feel pressure to ‘be perfect’. Positive role models are key to improving their self-esteem. But where should they find them?

‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’

In Shakespeare, insists Mrs Lunnon. These are some of the most complex and iconic women in literature. They defied society’s conventions by refusing to stay silent. They survived shipwrecks, ruled empires, and railed against the sexism which surrounded them. After 400 years we are still captivated by their stories; they have a lot left to teach us.

Hang on, say Kardashian fans. Those are fictional women made up by a dead old man, and their stories all end in marriage or death. Kim is a real person who took an awful experience and eventually built a multi-million-dollar career for herself. She has taken full control of her life in a male-dominated world. What could be more inspirational than that?