What do you mean, you don't know? Less of the false modesty, ladies. According to the Female Body Survey of Great Britain 2006, commissioned for the current issue of Grazia magazine, we are a nation made in the image of Persephone (Zeus's daughter was famed, as you will recall, for her well-turned ankles). Of 5,000 women questioned, 54% pronounced themselves happy with their ankles - the biggest vote of confidence given to any female British body part. A meagre 13% of us, by contrast, like our thighs.
The key to a good ankle, according to those in the know, is the curve. The ideal is a pronounced narrowing from shapely calf to slender foot - an effect that, for those of us in the wrong 46%, can be artificially achieved with a pair of high heels. Shapely ankles are viewed to best advantage, as femme fatales have known for generations, while the owner sits demurely cross-legged, dangling a stiletto from the toes of the uppermost leg - the lower-limb equivalent of wearing a Wonderbra.
The humble ankle, then, should be a focus of national celebration, heroically waging an against-the-odds, one-body-part battle against a tide of self-flagellating body fascism. Indeed, Newcastle and Exeter - where levels of ankle joy swell (sorry) to a healthy 70% - should be held up as paradigms of positivity at what is, quite literally, grassroots level. The good news about ankles also helps those of us who ponder such things to understand the success of cropped trousers. This seemingly irrational garment has the undeniable advantage of exposing the ankles while concealing everything else.
If the bulk of the survey makes depressing reading (just 2% of women are happy with their bodies), there is one other source of comfort. The region with the most positive body image is Newcastle, where 23% consider themselves to have long, slim legs, against a national average of 14%. Brighton, likewise, is a relatively contented place, where 7% are happy with their body overall. Intriguingly, Newcastle and Brighton also top the list of cities where women are most likely to eat a packet of biscuits in one go - 63% compared with the average 50%. To answer a question with a question: the key to happiness - is it ankles or biscuits?
