"Hello my name is Tracy Spicer and I'm a vain fool."

“Hello, my name is Tracy Spicer and I am a vain fool.”

That’s how Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist and media personality, started her talk at TEDxSouthBankWomen.

But she wasn’t just talking about herself.

She was speaking about a culture that tells women they have to spend 27 minutes getting ready every morning. That’s 10 working days a year, just in case you were wondering.

She was speaking up for women who are told that if they don’t spend this amount of time showering, shaving, moisturising, and applying make-up, they don’t look “professional” enough.

And she asks us to imagine how much more productive we’d be, if we didn’t have to deal with all this crap.

Watch if for yourself:

To break it down a little:

At 0.20 she points out how ridiculous the morning routine of many women is.

At 3.03 she asks, “Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s bullshit.”

At 4.00, she reveals that it takes the average woman 27 minutes a day to get ready for work. Over a year, that’s ten full working days.

At 5.15, she drops some truth bombs. Some studies suggest that the longer women spend on grooming, the less they earn.

At 6.15 she speaks about the power of a child asking, “Mummy, why do women wear make up, and men don’t?”

At 9.45, Tracey begins “pulling the Barbie doll apart.”

At 12.20, she shows the real Tracey Spicer without her armour.

At 13.30, Tracey wants you think about all the things you could be doing if you didn’t spend so much time getting ready. Writing a book, learning how to surf, learning how to sing, meditating, doing a Masters, or doing a PhD.

So, what are you going to spend your time doing instead?