Thursday, 4 July 2013

We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off

I have never written to my (or in fact any) MP before.  But I just have.  Well, when I say 'written to' I have in fact requested via Twitter that he sign a letter to David Dinsmore; Editor of The Sun newspaper to put an end to the Page 3 'feature' of a woman with her breasts on display.

We don't buy The Sun (or borrow, steal or read it on the sly in case you're wondering) but my mum and dad used to when I was growing up.  This meant that the female role models available to me as a child included Samantha Fox and Linda Lusardi.  It is almost comical that at a time when a woman was running the country my curious young mind was getting a picture of a pair of baps with my breakfast as an example of what it meant to be a woman.

Of course my parents didn't open the paper at Page 3 and make me look at the picture of 'Suki, aged 19 and a 32D' but I did pick up and read everything I could get my hands on and it would be wrong for me to say that the daily image of a half-naked woman didn't in some way inform my views on (and issues with) my own body-image and what men like and look for in women.  It's not just a 'harmless bit of fun'.

So for that reason, and for the reason that it's outdated, irrelevant and not the reason that many people buy The Sun I've asked Richard Benyon to sign the letter here: http://nomorepage3.org/letter-to-the-editor-signed-by-mps/ 

Lucy Holmes - Campaign Founder
and chief t-shirt rocker!
And how about you?  Would you like to reduce the potential for your sons, daughters, nieces and nephews to have a picture of a pair of teenage breasts stuck in front of them at your local newsagents or softplay?  Or perhaps you'd just like to reduce the likelihood of having to explain to them why it exists when they do :)  If so, you can head on over here http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/dominic-mohan-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3

You can learn more about the No More Page 3 campaign and admire or buy their rather
fetching 'Frankie Goes to Hollywood' style t-shirts - here: http://nomorepage3.org/

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Soundtrack: We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off by Jermaine Jackson
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6 comments:

  1. Chris Packe5 July 2013 at 09:57

    Hi Toni

    I find I agree with you. Not trying to be clever, but I guess sometimes a little bit of what you fancy doesn't do you good, or other people.

    I was fascinated to read in The Naked Ape that human breasts might have evolved to efficiently arouse men rather than efficiently feed babies.  We have also evolved to be attracted to sweet food.

    As I see it, sweets and breasts and many other things have become too easy to come by, which creates meaninglessness and confusion. In the past, we had to climb trees and brave bee onslaughts to get honey.  In a similar way, I think men need to WORK in order to gain access to sacred boobs, by building a meaningful relationship. And in doing so, we learn that it's not about the boobs at all.

    Page 3 and supermarket impulse aisles are examples of how we can allow ourselves to act like enormous children - a dangerous and destructive thing indeed.

    xxx

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    1. tonijkent5 July 2013 at 10:13

      Now there is the comment of one very evolved human being :)

      Thanks for dropping by again Chris - liking your adventures in rap by the way!

      Toni
      ps - I knew I'd get caught out by that strapline one of these days!

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  2. Anonymous5 July 2013 at 13:50

    personally I like page 3, it cheers everyone up on a Monday morning

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    1. tonijkent5 July 2013 at 19:03

      It doesn't cheer a lot of people up but breasts making you cheerful aside - would you still buy The Sun if it didn't have Page 3?

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  3. Anonymous5 July 2013 at 14:06

    Well done to the National Assoc of Head Teachers for taking a stand and signing. Although they look at it from the perspective of protecting young eyes from being embarrassed which I think misses (or avoids) the bigger issue of women being seen as objects, I do hope that it encourages other teaching organisations and organasationsn outside of teaching for that matter to sign too. Wouldn't it be a great culture shift if we taught our sons to appreciate minds and souls.

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    1. tonijkent5 July 2013 at 19:05

      I saw that today too - brilliant! id you see that the Girl Guides are too? http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/news/no_more_page_3.aspx Really heartening that large organisations aren't being shy about taking a stand on this.

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