Because Boobs Aren't News | In opposition to Page 3

*Just to clarify that this post is not sponsored and I was not asked to do it. 

I know my blog is generally a rather generic stream of nail polish and book recommendations, but today I wanted to address a cause that I feel very strongly about: The campaign to put an end to the Page 3 feature in the Sun newspaper. You will probably know that this particular feature is essentially a photo of a young woman, all glammed up in nothing but her pants, posing provocatively to the camera. 

I believe this is wrong... and stupid and I have signed this petition here to add my own little drop of support to the 100,000 + strong network already and suggest you do the same. However if for any reason you are having reservations about doing so, allow me to present to you a few arguments against Page 3 and hopefully change your perspective. 

01. It's Porn: It just is. I don't actually have any real issue with porn - on the internet, or top shelf magazines, where it can be accessed by people actively looking for it and where it is quite difficult for anyone who might feel very uncomfortable with it, to come across it unwittingly. Porn should not be featured in nationwide 'family' newspapers. It should not be allowed to be left on buses, looked at in the workplace or picked up off the stands by children. It just shouldn't, I don't really feel I need to get much deeper into that (and if you giggled at that last bit you naughty naughty thing :p) 

02. It's Embarrassing: It can't just be me that finds the whole thing massively awkward. I don't want to sit next to a man staring at the page, eyes glazed over, for over five minutes on the tube. Ugh. Furthermore, again I'd like to stress that the Sun considers itself a 'family' newspaper, and it's a pretty grim thought that young girls have to deal with their older male relatives perving over pictures of women not that much older than they are. 

03. It's Toxic: This is my biggest gripe. I will attempt for it to not turn into a feminist rant. I am worth more than my body. I am worth more than how sexually appealing I am to men in general. I am my achievements and my character and my ambitions and the thought that there might be young girls who see their older brothers, or friends at school looking at these pictures and talking about them and become convinced that her worth lies only in her sexual appeal is utterly appalling. Just a few weeks ago there was a feature about One Direction published on page 3 right next to the usual topless randomer. Bearing in mind young, impressionable and very devoted 1D fans eat up any and all news about the band, was it not the most tasteless thing in the world to do? It affects boys too, instead of praising female politicians and scientists, the Sun is promoting the idea that a woman's looks are all she has to contribute. She's young and pretty and has hot tits so she deserves to have a big picture in a newspaper. This was most clear during the Olympics, when despite these fantastic female role models everywhere you look, the biggest picture was still some random naked woman. When politician Clare Short took a stand against the feature, the Sun called her "fat and jealous." Again, nothing to do with her moral standing or political career, just her appearance. This is rampant across the media, all female public figures have their looks commented upon constantly. They are too thin, too fat, getting old, their new hairstyle doesn't suit them. It's bollocks. Adele is an incredible singer, but the thing most commented on is her weight. Even if it's dressed up in "It's great that she's a bigger girl who's successful" WHY DOES IT MATTER!? ... I may have failed on the feminist rant thing... sorry. 
My point is that the Page 3 feature being readily available is harmful for everyone. It conditions young people of both sexes to believe that a woman's worth equates to some arbitrary standard of sexual appeal. The media stinks with this whole issue in general, but getting rid of Page 3 would be a huge statement and step in the right direction. 

04. Boobs aren't news: Let's not pretend here, the Sun is hardly a fountain of hard hitting truth and insight. It's a bit shit as a newspaper anyway, but this feature is only here to rack up sales from leering perverts and giggling teenage boys. I get that some people want to read poop (why else would Hello do so well?) but can we at least try to go about things with some class and publish things with some depth of value? Some tiny educational factor? Please? Boobs aren't a talking point, about 50% of the population have them. We know the lads love them, but they aren't a relevant news topic and anyone who would genuinely lament it's no longer being included would be a very sad individual I think you'd agree.

05. One for the boys: Now it's highly unlikely that many boys will end up here, and hopefully those who do will not be the sort who would support Page 3, however if you are I would just like you, for a moment, to put yourself in the position of brother, son or father or in fact anyone with a young woman that they love and care for and respect. Now imagine that that young woman was in a Page 3 feature with her breasts exposed for any old creep to leer over, for snide 15 year old boys to snigger over in the locker room at school. Being judged not because she has a wicked sense of humour or is on her way to becoming head chef at a hotel or she can't walk past someone collecting for charity on the high street without reaching for her purse, but because of her body. The skin that encases the person that you love. Is that ok with you? Is that all she's worth?

 If that still doesn't have you convinced, may I propose a compromise, you can have bare tits on Page three, so long as we get bare dicks on page 4. Sound good? No?

I'd like to just state here that I don't really have any judgement about the women who take part. I think it's pretty unclassy but people can do what they want with their own bodies. Sometimes they are the very products of the culture that tells them they are only worth their bodies, others just do it because they're students or in low paying jobs and need the cash. I also don't object to nudity. There are tasteful ways to celebrate female beauty and sexuality, but this isn't it. My objections come from these pictures praising women for appearing sexually available and 'easy' without any thought to who she is as a human being. It's an incredibly damaging thing and apparently it's just allowed to happen. There's an article by a former topless model here that explains this beautifully.

If you believe that Page 3 needs to become a thing of the past I urge you to sign this petition. It takes about a minute... or more if you spend a long time ranting in the optional comments section... ahem. Also definitely take a few moments to look at some of the comments made by others signers. I got a lot of inspiration for this post from the people there and it's great to see so many men showing their support, and often very passionately! If you'd like more info definitely check out the website. There's a lot of great stuff on there and it's regularly updated.

That's it folks, thankyou for reading, and let me know what you think. It's not often I speak this frankly about things but I'd love to know your opinions on this!