Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is arguably the most talked-about woman in the world. She is the first future Queen of England to possess a university degree. Save the revealing photos from a fashion show during her college days, not a breath of scandal or impropriety touches her name. A commoner by birth, she has managed to seamlessly integrate herself into royal society and become a model of elegance and sophistication for the modern woman.

But the former Kate Middleton is most decidedly a poor role model for young women today.

Kate did one thing that allowed her to become everything else that she is known to be: she got married.

Literally, everybody can do that. In 19 U.S. states and 10 European countries, you don’t even have to be heterosexual to enjoy the right to marry. Seriously, it’s a right. No one can stop you. 

I know that Match.com has 40 million frustrated singles, many of them past their younger days, who are (desperately) searching for someone to settle down with. So obviously not everybody gets married. But everyone can. So the key factor is not that she got married, but whom she married.

We all know that you can’t add “Duchess” of anything to the end of your name unless you get hitched to the right man. And she evidently did that - Prince William was arguably the most eligible bachelor in the world before Waity Katie put a ring on it. 

Living in a country where we don’t have a monarchy, I know that I don’t understand the connection that a British subject has to their royals. To Kate, the possibility of becoming queen one day could very well be the greatest honor she could aspire to in life. And if her greatest ambition is to wave from a carriage and have her face on a postage stamp, I’m glad she’s getting there. But that absolutely does not mean she deserves to be anyone’s role model.

Getting married, having a child, and managing to not screw it all up is actually pretty average. For the many ordinary people who struggle every day to do just that, it’s a great personal achievement when they succeed. But that doesn’t mean that we should collectively give them a prize and put them on a pedestal. 

So the question is, is the story of a Cinderella romance so compelling to us millennials that we are willing to overlook the fact that the woman we’re told we should aspire to be actually has nothing to call her own?

Kate’s marriage is the only thing keeping her visible. And from a purely statistical standpoint, counting on a stable marriage for future security is as reliable as flipping a coin. Except, Kate can’t even count on 50 percent of the marital assets if she gets divorced; titles and social status aren’t exactly divisible.

Despite her smiling face in every photo, Kate Middleton is one of the least free people in the world. Every moment of her life is pre-planned. Her every action is doubly scrutinized by high society and the media. She is denied even the simple freedom of choosing her own wardrobe (special staff dress her according to royal specifications; the Queen mother even dictates where her hemlines should fall). 

I, for one, believe that women of our generation can aspire to something greater than being trapped in a gilded cage. Someone could easily argue that Kate chose this life for love; I don’t think that person would be wrong. Love is arguably one of the greatest, most elusive things a person could have in life. But it’s also only one of so many other monumental, elusive things we can chase after that can make us feel happy and fulfilled. But those things are completely ours: our education, our achievements and our careers aren’t provided by another person, and no one can take them away from us.  

It’s also unhealthy to look up to someone whose life was the product of happy coincidences: she was born pretty and around the same time as Prince William. They attended the same university at the same time, where they had an opportunity to meet when they were both unattached. They were romantically compatible, and nothing in either of their lives drove them apart during their extended courtship.

But most importantly, it is dangerous to make Kate a role model for modern women because she is always seen and never heard. 

Last I heard that phrase, it was used to describe children. As members of a group which fights every day to be recognized for our full humanity, to have our feelings be seen as valid expressions of that humanity, to freely make decisions about our bodies and our lifestyles (including our wardrobes), to be heard more than we are seen and to be seen for more than how we appear - nothing could take us further back from what we’ve already accomplished in that battle. 

For all the photos she smiles for, when do we ever hear her voice? How much of her thoughts and opinions do we know? As the wife of the future head of state of one of the most powerful countries in the world (even if only figuratively), what does she see for the future of Great Britain? How can the government make Britain a better place for her future subjects?

We know nothing of her thoughts on today’s issues. We don’t know, because she isn’t expected to have them. And without that critical piece, her role is simply ornamental. She may be aesthetically pleasing, even serve an important social function - but she'll never be the main character, not even in her own story. 

Society has begun to see it, and to enshrine it as an absolute, we must believe it. We must believe that we can be greater - and draw inspiration from women whose stories and spirits embody that belief. 

Reach Columist Ashley Yang here. Follow her here. Read more Unpopular Opinions here.