No To Page Three Why The Sun Should Drop Page 3
The Sun has reportedly finally ended Page 3 and about time. No, this dinosaur-like tradition probably isn't the biggest threat to women today (the pay gap, issues surrounding sexual consent and female misrepresentation in Hollywood worry me more), but it's just an outmoded, sexualised view of women that should have become extinct a long time ago.
The idea that an allegedly "family newspaper" would run photos of topless women is somewhat weird in the first place. Sun owner Rupert Murdoch started running pictures of girls in bikinis in the paper in 1969, but was allegedly angered when newly-appointed editor Larry Lamb swapped these for topless shots instead. Scrupulous until the end, he soon changed his mind when he realised how much money the paper was making. Last year, Murdoch branded the images "old-fashioned", but then moaned that "Brit feminists forever bang on about page 3". Because, Mr Murdoch, it offers a view of women that just isn't passable anymore.
Apart from the obvious "how is a pair of women's boobs remotely news?" argument, The Sun cannot possibly believe in gender equality if it persists in running these pictures. And if these pictures aren't news, which they clearly aren't, they are little more than a regular feature - reducing a woman's body to no more significant that a horoscope or crossword. And, where are the sexualised images of men? No they are written about because of their talents, jobs and views, not because they have a fine pair of abs.
The issue isn't about nudity. No one minds fashion magazines running topless images of models or stars because the context is different; Vogue is not real life, while the Sun would claim that its page three "girls" are 'normal' women - normal, apparently personality-free, women who are available and so keen to have sex with you boys whenever you want it.
The No More Page 3 campaign was launched in 2012 by founder Lucy-Anne Holmes, which argued that sexualised women's bodies should not be as commonplace as a crossword or news story. The initiative's petition has currently been signed by over 217,000.
It's been 30 years since this odd, objectifying concept was introduced, a lot has changed and, finally, The Sun appears to have caught up.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8r7uMraZmqJGcsm7Ax6ucnmWnncZuwMeeZKytnmLAqbvUpZtmnKKkvW68wKCcZms%3D