No more nipples in your newspaper
The No More Page Three campaign, aiming to ban topless images of women from newspapers, has gained further momentum this week.
The campaign focuses on the way page three allows women to be viewed as sexual objects, and how in the 21st century boobs do not have a place next to serious news.
Since joining Twitter at the end of August No More Page Three has 723 followers, with many celebrities and journalists joining in the fight. The petition also now has around 2,500 signatures as they directly confront Dominic Mohan, Editor of The Sun.
The Sun has argued for many years to keep bare breasts in their publication, saying that it makes the newspaper stand out from their competition and feels that eliminating the page will alienate those readers that approve - proof of how short sighted the paper is, as there is no consideration for those many potential readers that are discouraged from buying the publication.
As a 20-something woman there is few situations more embarrassing in a public place than trying to read the articles either side of a pair of tits whilst having a small child peer over your shoulder and their mother look at you with disgust.
Not only does the page send out the message that women have just two assets it is also cuts off a large percentage of potential readers that feel uncomfortable with seeing a pair of nipples next to a news story.
In February 2012 Mr Mohan gave a statement, which said that the models featured were ‘fresh young faces with no plastic surgery’ and that ‘it was legal’. This flimsy defence shows that their clearly is no sensible argument for the publication of page three and actually adds to weight to the fight against the subjugation of women. Many things fit into the ‘don’t involve plastic surgery and legal’ category but that doesn’t mean I want to look at them on the tube.
One tweeter said on the group's Facebook page: "there’s enough porn out there already, why do we need page 3?’ perhaps not the best direction to take in an anti-exploitation of women argument, but the sentiment behind it is there. At least with porn there is an element of sexual equality with sadomasochistic videos for both sexes. On page three there is no sign of this whatsoever, although adding male models as well would make it a lot more like a chest catalogue than a newspaper.
In general I’m all in favour of people having the right to make choices about what they do with their own body; however this campaign stands for something more than just the individual girls. Opposition to page three began almost as soon as it was first published over 40 years ago, but not until now have women voiced their opinion on women’s rights and the negative message of page three without being bullied and labelled as ‘jealous’, ‘fat’ or ‘ugly’. No longer is the media dominated by a small section of bully boy men, giving rise to a new wave of women speaking up for themselves, because now they can without being dismissed as just an over-emotional woman.
Whatever positives the editors and appreciators of page three have, they also should consider the repercussions for younger people, especially girls. We are currently in the age of those famous for being famous and right at the top of the ever expanding list of celebrity tits and teeth are the page three girls. They are in the Big Brother house, involved in constant scandals and generally spilling onto more than one tabloid page. This alone should give weight to any No More Page Three argument, as it ultimately is warping the aspirations of young people. Readers can no longer afford to disregard the negative effect page three has, and now is the time for everyone to help ban bare boobs.
Sign the petition here, join the Facebook page and follow the campaign on Twitter (@NoMorePage3).
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