Name: Kim Campbell.

Age: 70.

Appearance: She looks like someone who hates arms.

That seems a weird assumption to make about someone. I’m not saying it about just anyone. I’m saying it about Kim Campbell: the former Canadian prime minister, member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, honorary fellow of the London School of Economics and arch-enemy of all arms everywhere.

Stop that. She started it.

Did she really? Yes. On Tuesday, she attacked the convention of female newsreaders wearing sleeveless dresses. She called it demeaning. “Bare arms undermine credibility and gravitas,” she said.

So she hates sleeves, not arms. Potato potahto. You know what sleeveless dresses would be if arms didn’t exist? Just dresses. I put it to you that Campbell hates arms.

Campbell is an important figure. She arguably did more to further Canadian sexual assault law than anyone in the country’s history. I demand you take her argument seriously. Well, there isn’t any proof to back up her claims that bare arms are demeaning, is there?

Well … Oh, sure, I suppose there was that 2012 study from the University of Maryland that found a link between the amount of bare skin someone displays and their perceived intelligence. According to the research, we often perceive more scantily clad people as less competent at their jobs. But what does that prove?

Exactly what you’re arguing against! Campbell even linked to a tweet that referenced the study. Oh, fine. But I saw plenty of female journalists taking issue with her tweet, too, saying that she is just finding new ways for women to be criticised.

So who’s right? Well, I just did a Google image search for Kim Campbell, and it’s very hard to find a sleeveless photograph of her.

And she was a well-respected prime minister of a huge country. Well, not that well-respected. She only had the job for 132 days, and was once named as the second-worst Canadian prime minister of all time.

So are bare arms good or bad? I suppose it depends on whether you want to show them or not. If you’re being forced to show them, they’re probably bad. If it’s your choice, they’re probably good.

Hang on, are you suggesting that people should wear whatever they want, and people shouldn’t judge them for it? Radical, isn’t it?

Do say: “Bare arms do not undermine credibility.”

Don’t say: “Sexy, sexy credibility.”