The author of the 'Naked Girl's guide to Feminism' has been defending her work from claims that it is vacuous 'chick-lit' after it was derided this week by the journalist Libby Brooks. In the book the author claims that Barbie is a feminist icon, and that you shouldn't judge something to be crap just because it's mass produced and heavily marketed to impressionable young girls.

The author who goes by the name of 'Ellie' and who is a regular writer on the Guardian newspaper, said "My feminism is about realism, looking at the issues and choices that face us every day – what to wear, whether to put on make-up, who cooks dinner, whether the route home is safe, whether to apply for promotion at work, and so on."

When she was asked whether little girls really had much choice about asking for a Barbie, in view of the fact that they would feel left out by their friends if Mummy and Daddy didn't buy them one, Ellie replied resolutely, "It is evident that the Barbie doll is an exquisitely made item, similar in its own way to a Dior handbag or a pair of Jimmy Choos. It has been extremely effective in showing what a young lady should aspire to in life. It is obvious that unless a young girl learns early on that you can 'have it all' and you can shop till you drop, she will never make any effort to get to the top of the ladder and be respected as an elegant and effortlessly superior rich bitch."

"Failing that she can just marry a rich man, of course."