This week the Gold Coast's emblematic Meter Maids turned 50 - figuratively at least. In the world of marketing to maintain a compelling brand for such a long time is an extraordinary achievement and they are still going strong.

Yet the Meter Maids have always had a frosty relationship with their sisters in the feminist movement. Even after all these years, vocal critics such as Canberra based feminist Melinda Tankard Reist still bemoan Meter Maids as being part of the "sexploitation" of women. She worked herself into a lather a few years back when Microsoft had a couple of Meter Maids attend a tech conference it was hosting on the Gold Coast.

Elsewhere she does a great job campaigning against the sex trafficking of young girls and there I agree with her entirely. It is a stain that must be wiped out.

But these are Meter Maids. Do we really think they are the thin end of the wedge when it comes to sexploitation?