Nicola Sturgeon has attacked the “hideous and quite cruel” scrutiny of her appearance that she faces as a female politician.
The First Minister said she feels that her looks are subject to more commentary than those of male politicians such as former Labour leader Ed Miliband.
She told Vogue magazine: “I accept that Ed’s image and how he looked became a big part of how people perceived him, but I still don’t think it’s quite the same.
“Literally every time I’m on camera, as well as there being commentary on what I’ve said, there’ll be commentary on what my hair looked like, what I wear.
“Often it’s written in the most hideous and quite cruel way. And yes men aren’t immune to that, but even Ed Miliband I don’t think experienced it quite that way.”
In an interview for the October issue of the magazine, available from Thursday, Ms Sturgeon said she was now “inured” to comments about her looks.
She also reflected on her position as a female politician in an environment traditionally dominated by men.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I do struggle to identify an occasion when I was held back because I’m a woman … You don’t think about it at the time, but looking back on it, of course.”
The First Minister also revealed her self-critical nature, saying: “Almost every day as I replay the day in my head, I think, ‘I should have done that differently’.
“I’m quite hypercritical of myself … It’s a very Scottish thing, always thinking that you’ve got to be that bit better than everyone else to be good enough.”