....to want to ban page 3???

[DianaVreeland]

I remember seeing a page 3 girl for the first time when I was about 6 as my neighbour bought the Sun. I cringed inwardly, and haven't stopped feeling the same since. I have 5 nieces 3 nephews and my own 2 sons.....I hope they could grow up without seeing images of women objectified like this. Clearly I am not showing this to them but at some point I know they will. Does anyone else feel the same?

Salty I have no idea how a ban could be enforced at all, really they would have to ban all pictures of boobs in all magazines and papers. If that was the case then pictures of breastfeeding mothers would have to be banned too, and the same people calling for this ban would be up in arms about that too.

I don't see how it would be hard to ban. 'No stripper photos in national newspapers'. Quite simple. Like lads mags having to be moved to upper shelves in newsagents.

Expat I admire the sentiment of your statement but maybe it's a bit ambiguous to get through parliament? Maybe all photos should be run past you so you can decide if it is decent?

How on earth can 'no gratuitous half-naked pictures of women which are nothing whatsoever to do with current affairs in a newspaper' be considered ambiguous?

I don't think it would be that hard at all. No sexualised naked images. The press already know what this means and the rest of them (barring the sport) manage it just fine, while simultaneously carrying photos of bf women where appropriate.

Photos of strippers. Without their clothes on.

We don't have this problem classifying other sorts of porn, do we? Even the sun don't try to get away with full on vadge shots by pretending it's art.

What about those nude shoots you see, often celebrities, showing all but the nipples being covered? Acceptable? Lingerie is a fairly common sight in a lot of papers, is that ok?

Actually I would also be talking about the star and occasionally the mirror, also the people. So not only the sun and the sport is it?

Sexualised images could mean many things though, so whos perception of sexualised are we going by? As salty says is lingerie ok? I have seen underwear models wear less than some page 3 girls.

I'm interested to hear expat's position on lingerie models, are they prostituting themselves too? The Bravissimo models are certainly 'wank fodder' if conversations I've heard are to go by.

I don't like them either but they are clearly different from a near full page spread, on the same page every day, saying HERE'S A PICTURE OF A WOMAN WE'VE PAID TO TAKE HER CLOTHES OFF - LOOK AT HER TITS EVERYBODY, AREN'T THEY GREAT!!!!

Page 3 is an 'institution' - people who buy the sun know they will reliably get their tit picture every day, without fail. As I said in my first post on this thread, nothing quite normalises the objectification of women as much as page 3.

Are they posing nearly naked in sexualised poses, spoons? Because if so, it's stripping. Call a spade a spade.

And because of that, a ban would send a clear message that the objectification of women is not OK, even though all those other things would still exist. Changing public attitudes has to start somewhere.

It's possible that the sun would secretly welcome a ban because they know the whole concept of page 3 is outdated and tacky but they can't be seen to voluntarily stop doing doing it because that would be giving in to the hairy feminists.

YANBU.I have 2 sons.I hate this ? low level soft porn in papers and newsagents.

One point I'll concede is that page three is an institution. If this makes it more or less sinister I'm not so sure. The fact that it has been around for thirty years to me means its impact is less? I could be wrong?

I would like to point out I actively dislike the sun. It's just that there are bigger reasons for me than boobs

Last time I saw page 3 the poses weren't particularly sexual, other than the fact they had their tops off and for me nakedness in itself is not sexual. Not any different to any pose in a lingerie catalogue.

I work in a school and parents send papers in to use for table covers, I have to filter out the page 3s.

YANBU at all OP. The whole concept of the page 3 girl is pretty gross, and I've rather huffily moved train seats in the past when men have sat down opposite me at a table only to pore over their copy of The Sun, with page 3 open. I really feel personally affronted by the sexism in the concept. Having said that, I'm not altogether sure banning is the way forward. These cavemen types (and airhead young women) need educating - but how?

Oh come on, spoons, the whole tone of p3 is 'phoooaaarrrr look at 'er tits!' of course it's sexual. The main purpose of a lingerie catalogue is to sell lingerie. The main only purpose of page 3 is to show a woman with her kit off. And I have never seen a topless woman in a lingerie catalogue.

salty - I don't know about sinister - as an 'institution', it's a potent symbol that sends a strong message that objectifying women is a fine and dandy mainstream activity. Banning it would send a strong message that objectifying women is not a fine and dandy mainstream activity, IYSWIM.

I'm not saying I agree with page3, I just think claiming that all topless models are prostitutes destroys any credibility of the argument.

Yes.

It is a popular newspaper which unfortunately means it is often read - and left behind - on buses or trains. I hate it when my children see the pictures opened on a seat... and I don't like the way that having it in a paper makes it seem casually acceptable.

They're strippers, spoons. Posing topless = stripping. So call it stripping, selling your tits for wank fodder, that's what it is.

I am actually quite shocked to be reminded that page 3 still exists as obv, I don't know anyone that buys the Sun.

It should definitely be banned.

Topless models=prostitutes was not my argument. Prostitution involves many more sorts of harm than p3.

It does however have one thing in common with p3 - it reinforces the message that women's primary function is for sex and that men are entitled to access to women's bodies, either through buying them directly or through images in the media.