Strange view of a woman's worth
WEEK in, week out, Britain's best-selling newspaper devotes its third page to image upon image of a young woman stripped to her knickers.
Frankly, it doesn't really matter who she is, as long as her bust is big enough and her face attractive, she'll do.
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Fiona Garrahan, 17, of West Bridgford School, has had enough of 'News in Briefs'
Whether we're willing to admit it or not, Page 3 does objectify women.
It reduces us to sexual commodities ready to be bought, sold and publicly judged based on our desirability.
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With a daily circulation of 2.5 million, The Sun, supposedly a "family" newspaper, endorses this unbelievably limited view of female abilities.
Granted, Page 3 doesn't run on the weekend in case children see it, but what about the five other days of the week?
What about the newspapers left in cafes, on trains or even propped up in the dashboard of a van and clearly visible to my Year 8 science class when I was younger?
It doesn't even stop with the image.
Each woman is accompanied with the 'News in Briefs' joke box, which is filled with a sarcastic comment concerning the economic situation, a recent political event or perhaps even foreign affairs.
What's more, it's usually embellished with a philosophical quotation from an intellectual figure.
And the running joke is that it must be impossible for a physically appealing, topless young female to ever, ever say something worth listening to.
The growing opposition against Page 3, which includes an online petition of more than 63,700 signatures, has often been dismissed as simply a form of jealousy.
However, I don't oppose Page 3 because I feel personally threatened or intimidated by the beauty of the women; I oppose it because I feel demeaned by the message it promotes.
It would seem that in The Sun's sexist bubble, the news revolves around clothed men who actively participate in society, whilst their female counterparts pose naked for their pleasure.
This raises a question: if both genders are truly equal, where is Page 3 man?
When bare breasts are the biggest female contribution in the biggest national publication, the message is unmistakable.
Now, after 43 years of this, isn't it time for an update?
10 Comments
by mof_gedling
Saturday, February 09 2013, 8:03PM
“i have an idea,if its so demeaning to women then why dont they all wear yashmaks ?,”
by anonymous90
Saturday, February 09 2013, 7:32PM
“Page 3 is important because it is just one piece of the puzzle - the puzzle being the international, undeniable way in which women are constantly undermined. Did you know that 1 in 3 women around the world are raped? Or that 23% of women in the UK (according to a 2007 Home Office study) are sexually assaulted? Society is an interlinked thing, and even seemingly small issues like Page 3 impact on and connect with "bigger" issues like rape, assault, domestic violence - even the terrible representation of women in parliament and business. Nothing will change until people - like Fiona - are brave enough to stand up and say that the demeaning sexualisation of women is wrong.”
by the-crossed
Friday, February 08 2013, 12:56PM
“I haven't read a printed newspaper in years thanks to the internet, but I'm sure one of the red tops used to have a 'page 7 fella'........Didn't hear any blokes moaning about being exploited or such nonsense as I remember.”
by ToryMan
Friday, February 08 2013, 12:32PM
“No Considerthis – You appear to missing the point. If you object to something then why fund it? The Sun would not exist as a newspaper if it was not funded by its female readership who account for over 50% of the sales. I credit women with enough intelligence to realise this and presume that they have made a choice to keep the paper going.”
by ShockG
Friday, February 08 2013, 11:37AM
“...Also, Page 3 doesn't objectify women - It objectifies Page 3 Girls, who I'm sure don't give a damn or they wouldn't do it.
If you can't differentiate between yourselves and Page 3, more fool you. I can, as can most men out there.
You don't see us up in arms about Diet Coke, or Old Spice Man.”
by ShockG
Friday, February 08 2013, 11:24AM
“Rest assured that:
a) If there was a market for 'Page 3 Man'
b) If the price was right
c) If in the future, pasty, over-weight white men are considered desirable
I'd sign up like a shot.
You could even put a comedy section about my views on Gaza, or The Euro-zone crisis.”
by SteveBasford
Friday, February 08 2013, 10:48AM
“just don't buy it then, problem solved. for every male willing to pay to view it, there's a woman willing to pay to reveal it.”
by considerthis
Friday, February 08 2013, 10:48AM
“Toryman, you are missing the point, we all live in a society where this limited view of women impacts on us as copperjohn3 points out.”
by copperjohn3
Friday, February 08 2013, 10:13AM
“If we ever a reach a point when women do not actively trade on their beauty and sexuality then your comments may be valid. Have a thumb through any women's magazine, watch a little television, particularly the music channels and witness for yourself the profiteering and financial success which women are securing for themselves by maximising their exposure as physically attractive and sexually desirable.”
by ToryMan
Friday, February 08 2013, 8:48AM
“If women don't like the Sun they could always stop buying it. At the moment they represent more than half the readership of the newspaper.”