One of the biggest debates that has raged since women got the vote is whether or not we are truly equal. Equal to what? To Men? If being equal to men is what women aspire to I've always thought we should aim higher! And what exactly is it about men that women want to be part of? I certainly have no desire, or the ability, to fix my own car but I do want the choice to know if that was the route I wanted to go down, then I wouldn't be stopped by society frowning on my choices.

Despite all our modern thinking, women often still feel railroaded into a certain career path, one that never quite makes it as far as a man's and one that usually comes to an abrupt halt when children come along. But is this such a bad thing? Is it a failing on our part if we are not the same as men? And what makes anyone think that the path of man is the right one that we need to be equal to?

Surely, equality, true equality, is the freedom to choose where we want to go? Do we really want a career? If so, that career should be one of our choosing. Women are not intellectually or intelligently any different to men. We have the same drive and ambition but we are also accompanied by the fact that we are able to remain steady and consistent whereas men suffer more extremes.

I hear many of you disagreeing with this fact, given that women are often governed by their hormones. But normally, once a woman has established whether she is a hard worker or not - whether she is intelligent or not, then a consistency will stick. Many will be the same but are much more extreme. This is one of the things that sets them on a particular path and one of the things that makes women more adept at caring for a family.

When we look at the careers of men and think we need to be like them to feel equal, this is not right. If we want a career in a certain profession, all well and good, but these days success and equality are measured by your pay cheque, not whether or not you're where you want to be or whether or not you're happy there.

Some men aspire to be politicians and doctors as do some women. Some women choose to go into the sex industry and as much as some people frown on this, doesn't equality mean that it should be there choice, free of the forced opinions of others? After all, there always has been and always will be a market for this type of job.

Imagine sitting at a dinner party when the man in the suit announces his salary as a city office worker to the other guests. The men would get jealous and the women would swoon (the shallow ones, that is). Now imagine a woman sitting at the same party announcing that she earns her living by performing webcam sex.

Can you picture the gasps and looks of utter horror on other diners faces? Ok, maybe the other guests don't like to imagine your daily tasks while they're eating but would it be that or her choice of career that startled the crowd? No doubt the woman who performs webcam sex for a living would be looked down on by all while the men are discreetly getting her internet address during after dinner drinks!

So what makes the woman so frowned upon? Webcam sex is not to everyone's approval, granted. However, do these same people ask the city worker about the type of clients he services? They wouldn't consider it. And if they did know, they would forgive it because, in normal society, a certain front is required, regardless of what goes on in reality.

Of all the guests at the table, it's a pretty sure thing that they would all profess to believe in equality but would their reactions to the webcam sex girl show this? Would they get as far as discovering that she probably earns as much as the city worker and if they did, would they're opinion of her change?

Women should never be forced down the path of being in the sex trade but surely if this particular woman was doing what she wanted, was happy with her chosen career and her life, does that not equal equality? Whether you're a city slicker, a farmer, an estate agent, a shop girl or a webcam sex girl, true equality would mean being able to do what you want with your life and not aspiring to emulate someone else's life for fear of being looked down upon.