Should Page 3 Be Stopped?

January 26, 2015

For most people, page three will always be remembered as the page where sexy topless women would appear. Last week we thought that page three was done for, after media outlets all over reported that it was finished. Turns out it is back and here to stay.

Unsurprisingly, the paper behind this controversy is The Sun. It seems that their weekly meetings are made up of them going “what is the most controversial thing we can do this week? Bring back page 3 after suggesting it was over? Yes! Let’s do that!”

So it seems that page 3 is going to be around a little longer, but with so much debate around the topic we have to ask – is it time that page 3 was stopped?

Objectifying

The main argument against page 3 is that it is objectifying women. Feminists feel that, in a society where men and women are working towards equality, page 3 shouldn’t exist. Page 3, they believe, should be stopped in order to create more equality between men and women.

There are two issues with the above idea. The first is that, if women are allowed to be shown on page 3, why can’t men be? Why can’t we have a sexy woman standing opposite a sexy man to even the score? That way, men and women would be treated a little more evenly.

The second issue? Free will. The assumption is being made that these women being shown on page 3 aren’t doing it willingly, or that they have no other choice. Now why does that sound familiar?

As body builder and occasional glamour model Jodie Marsh said: “telling girls they shouldn’t do page 3 is NOT being a feminist; women should do WHATEVER they want!!” I have to agree with her. To me, feminism shouldn’t be about telling women what they can and cannot do because of how they are treated – feminism should be women having the confidence and conviction to do whatever they like and not to be seen as victims because others might not agree with their choices.

Offensive

It is also said to be extremely offensive to those who read newspapers regularly. Picture the scene – you are casually flicking through your newspaper only to be assaulted by some big bouncing breasts in the centre of the page.

My problem with this particular argument is that almost everyone is aware of page 3’s history and just what opening your paper at that page means, so becoming offended by the “sudden” surprise of boobs just doesn’t seem that sudden.

A lot of newspapers have also stopped putting page 3 in there, as newspapers should be about… well… news. The campaigners against page 3, called ‘No More Page 3’, were eager to push this point, writing on the pavement outside of The Sun Newspaper Head Quarters that “if your newspaper was any good you wouldn’t need sexism to sell it!”
Woman's breastsTo be honest, that is a fair point. The majority of newspapers have now switched their focus to news instead of boobs, and it doesn’t seem to have dramatically decreased their sales at all.

Is page 3 outdated?

Comedian Jack Whitehall pointed out on Twitter “Page 3 vanquished. Where will men go to see breasts? If only there was a huge global information network people could search for them on.”

With the internet making porn so accessible to those old enough, it is a wonder that anyone feels the need to buy newspaper for their nude spreads anymore. Why have an A3 page of a woman’s chest when you can watch a twenty minute long video of another woman giving someone great head?

For me, I don’t necessarily think that page 3 should be stopped. I get why people want it gone, but surely we should let people decide what they want to do for themselves?

That said, I don’t think page 3 has a long life left. The internet has pretty much replaced it, and so people don’t have to spend money to get those pictures anymore. Are you one of those who buy newspapers for the page 3 spread, or have you found the internet the better place to search? You can share your thoughts by leaving a comment in the box.

Genevive
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