Meet ‘Generation Snowflake’ – the hysterical young women who can’t cope with being offended

A top British thinker has claimed young women are in the grip of a "hysteria" which has made them unable to cope with being offended.

Claire Fox, head of a thinktank called the Institute of Ideas, has penned a coruscating critique of "Generation Snowflake", the name given to a growing group of youngsters who "believe it’s their right to be protected from anything they might find unpalatable".

She said British and American universities are dominated by cabals of young women who are dead set on banning anything they find remotely offensive.

"It makes me sad that these teens and 20-somethings have become so fearful that they believe a dissenting opinion can pose such a serious threat," Fox wrote in an .

This hyper-sensitivity has prompted the University of East Anglia to outlaw sombreros in a Mexican restaurant and caused the National Union of Student to ban clapping as "as it might trigger trauma", asking youngsters to use "jazz hands" instead.