RIP Page 3 Girl (1970-2015)

[Johan]

Page 3: The Sun calls time on topless models after 44 years

Landmark decision met with delight by growing army of critics although paper expected to continue featuring partially clad women


The Sun, Britain’s top-selling newspaper, has scrapped Page 3’s topless women after 44 years, delighting the legion of critics who have branded the photos of bare-breasted models sexist, offensive and anachronistic.

Insiders said the decision has been taken to kill off the controversial feature quietly but that the feature would continue online.

“This comes from high up, from New York,” said one senior executive in a reference to the paper’s owner Rupert Murdoch.

The Sun refused to respond to any calls, emails or texts from the Guardian throughout Monday but told the Times, which is also owned by Murdoch: “Page 3 of The Sun is where it’s always been, between pages 2 and 4, and you can find Lucy from Warwick at Page3.com. “

The paper reported that last Friday’s edition of the paper will be the last that would “carry an image of a glamour model with bare breasts on that page”.

A spokeswoman for the campaign group No More Page 3: “This could be truly historic news and a great day for people power.” adding it “could be a huge step for challenging media sexism”.


Topless Page 3 models were introduced by the Sun in 1970, less than a year after Rupert Murdoch bought the title.

The change may be reversed, it is understood, if it results in a noticeable Sun sales decline. Publisher News UK has previously publicly argued, in the face of mounting opposition from critics including the No More Page 3 campaign, that the feature remains popular with its readers and those who want rid of it do not buy the paper.

However, internally the company is thought to have been considering its options for Page 3 and appears to have been edging towards this decision for some time. The Sun’s Irish edition dropped topless Page 3 pictures in August 2013, with Dublin-based editor Paul Clarkson citing “cultural differences”.

Sun proprietor Rupert Murdoch made his first negative comments about Page 3 in February 2014 and then gave a stronger hint in September when he tweeted that he thought its daily diet of topless pictures was “old-fashioned”.

In the same series of tweets Murdoch hinted at the change that is expected to be introduced, saying “Brit feminists [who] bang on forever about Page 3 … never buy paper” before adding: “I think old-fashioned but readers seem to disagree.”

He then went on to solicit views about the daily feature among Twitter users. “Aren’t beautiful young women more attractive in at least some fashionable clothes? Your opinions please.”

The move follows a 28-month campaign, launched in September 2012, by a woman who asked the paper’s editor to “stop conditioning your readers to view women as sex objects”.

Lucy Holmes’s campaign, "No More Page 3", caught the imagination of women (and men) across Britain, attracting more than 215,000 signatories to an online petition.

It also garnered support from a range of organisations, such as the Girl Guides, the Girls’ Brigade, most of the teaching trades unions, the College of Midwives, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh Assembly. More than 30 universities voted to stop selling the Sun until it stopped publishing topless images.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/19/has-the-sun-axed-page-3-topless-pictures

Page 3 models lead backlash against 'comfy shoe-wearing, no bra-wearing, man-haters'


Outpouring of reaction on Twitter as The Sun stops publishing topless pictures

Page 3 girls have led the backlash against The Sun's decision to end its topless tradition, claiming the move has been "dictated by comfy shoe-wearing, no bra-wearing, man-haters".

Model Rhian Sugden, 28, criticised at the move, suggesting it was "only a matter of time" before everything they did was dictated by such people.

Former glamour model Jodie Marsh insisted that "telling girls they shouldn't do Page 3 is not being a feminist".
She said campaigners should focus on more important issues that affect women, such as female genital mutilation.
She said she "loved" posing for Page 3 and that it made her feel powerful and earned her good money.
"Women should empower and encourage other women," she wrote on Twitter. "For that is the only way to truly be 'equal' and have rights..."


Former glamour model Nicola McLean said she did not think Page 3 was a "sexual equality" issue.
She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "It has been going for many years, which is one of the reasons I feel so sad that it has seemingly come to an end. I don't think it is outdated. I think the girls still look fantastic on the page, they still clearly enjoy what they are doing, people still want to see it. Everybody still wants Page 3, apart from the feminists who are fighting an argument I just don't agree with. If you meet any Page 3 girl who has gone on to pose for the Sun, we are all very strong-minded women that have made our own choice and feel very happy with what we are doing. We certainly don't feel like we have been victimised."


However, the Sun's apparent decision to ditch its traditional Page 3 photograph prompted a largely positive reaction from campaigners and critics.

The "Page 3" hashtag was trending on Twitter whilst BBC Radio 4 led their news bulletins with the item throughout Tuesday morning.

Several MPs, including well-known Page 3 critics Harriet Harman and Stella Creasy, weighed into the debate.


Emma Reynolds, the shadow housing minister and labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, said it was "brilliant news" while many congratulated Lucy-Anne Holmes, who spearheaded the No More Page 3 campaign.
Others took a more lighthearted approach. Andrew Castle, the BBC presenter, joked that he would miss the "insightful" news relayed by the models each day. Some critics, whilst cautiously welcoming the development, expressed frustration that the feature would still be available online, whilst others suggested it might simply be a device to boost online subscriptions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...op-Page-3-cautiously-welcomed-by-critics.html


I support feminists when they are actually fighting for women's right, not when they act like man haters and focus on non-important stuff that will bring no good to woman and only frustration to men.

 

[cestmoi2010]

The best way to read into this is from the women who hate this is: Since we are not young and hot with amazing bodies we want to make sure those who are and do are as miserable as we are because we are tried of the attention they get for their bodies - attention we never got when we were younger.

Here is what Emma Reynolds looks like. She isn't as ugly and fat as I thought she would be. She is not stunning beauty but she isn't 30 Stone (might as well use British terms) like I thought she might be:

http://www.emmareynolds.org.uk/

https://twitter.com/EmmaReynoldsMP

https://www.facebook.com/EmmaReynoldsMP

As for Lucy Ann Holmes - also not as fat and ugly as I thought she might be:

https://twitter.com/LucyAnneHolmes

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/mar/10/anti-page-3-the-sun-campaigner

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/lucy-anne-holmes-on-the-no-more-page-3-campaign-1-3281726

 

[Will E Worm]

Britain is fascists now?

Or, are they turning Christian?

 

[alanahraefan]

All this decision did was inspire me to "research" the three models who commented in Johan's initial post. So way to go, No More Page 3-ers, you really accomplished what you set out to do.

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

What a load of bullshit this is. The girl mags themselves - Heat, Closer etc - do far more to promote "negative body image" with their headlines like "Shocking Celebrity Bikini pics" and "Latest Celeb diets" and are littered with pictures of semi-naked blokes - as are many ad campaigns - but apparently men being positioned as sex objects doesn't matter, because most men don't give a shit about how good looking men are presented in the media. We just shrug and get on with our own lives.

As for the models' side, I'm reasonably chatty with a glamour/sometimes P3 model and she's delighted that there's one less gig in town. For girls in general, one less place to get work without having to show your beaver too. It's insane to think that Page 3 is no longer there as a chance for aspiring glamour models to get their foot in the door, get some attention, and get more exposure and some of the bigger jobs. More and more girls that might have got into glamour (and trust me, plenty of them love the lifestyle and the friendships they've forged in the business) are basically now going to instead end up working dead end jobs they hate. Great.

Best of all, this is a victory for one set of women dictating that other women can't use their bodies how THEY SEE FIT or to make money or a success of themselves. Women hurting other women. Doesn't sound like feminism to me.

 

[Johan]

British tabloid ‘The Sun’ brings back topless Page 3 girls

Move ends speculation that paper had dropped much-criticised feature

A topless woman appears on Page 3 of British tabloid The Sun newspaper for the first time in almost a week, bringing to an end speculation that the paper had dropped the long-running feature.

It had been widely thought the controversial item had ended after 44 years, but today’s paper shows 22-year-old Nicole from Bournemouth winking and baring her breasts.

Under the headline “Clarifications and Corrections” the paper states: “Further to recent reports in all other media outlets, we would like to clarify that this is Page 3 and this is a picture of Nicole, 22, from Bournemouth.

“We would like to apologise on behalf of the print and broadcast journalists who have spent the last two days talking and writing about us.”

The No To Page 3 campaign group, which had all but declared victory in their battle to have the feature axed, said the “fight might be back on”.

Writing on their Facebook page they said: “Thanks to The Sun for all the publicity they’ve given the campaign.“

The paper, Britain’s best-selling tabloid, had not published pictures of topless glamour models since Friday, instead advising readers the pictures would be available on its website.

They did however print pictures of women in bikinis, and yesterday featured former Page 3 model Katie Price in a revealing outfit under the headline “Thanks for the mammaries”.

Today’s front page claims: “We’ve had a mammary lapse”.

After reports, including in sister publication The Times, that the paper had decided to quietly drop the feature, British Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Liberal Democrat women’s and equalities minister Jo Swinson were among those to express their delight.

But the tabloid’s head of public relations Dylan Sharpe had refused to confirm the move, and last night he sent a tweet saying: “I said that it was speculation and not to trust reports by people unconnected to The Sun. A lot of people are about to look very silly...”

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/t...un-brings-back-topless-page-3-girls-1.2075335



Suck it up, feminazis :thefinger

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

A great day. Hooray for the continuing joy brought by Holly, Rosie, Mel and their mates.

Suck it up, feminazis :thefinger

 

[essexy]

Who buys newspapers these days anyway.

 

[RASQ]

R.I.P. Page 3 Girl

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

Who buys newspapers these days anyway.

People that want something to read on the bus/train or at their desk/on their lunch, can't be fucked staring into their mobile like every other wanker, and really don't miss the 30p.

 

[essexy]

I'd sooner read the metro marginally better quality journalism and its free

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

I'd sooner read the metro marginally better quality journalism and its free

The Metro does have the fabulous "Rush Hour Crush."

Were you the beautiful blonde who looked really worried before sprinting from the tube at Kings Cross? I was the scabby guy in the filthy mac scratching himself leering from the other side of the carriage.

 

[Rey C.]

The world may be ending. Rupert Murdoch and I are in full agreement:

Rupert Murdoch says feminists are 'elites who yak'.

 

[tartanterrier]

Page 3 was dead a long time ago, and I would say it died around the 1990's - 2000's period, when the Daily Sport was just full of page 3/porn stars - and in better positions too. Then of course you had the internet with all it's trimmings, which put the final nail in the page 3 girls coffin in my opinion.

I'm glad to see it's finally gone to be honest.

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

FYI, it's not. They let everyone think it was finished then resumed posting a topless girl in the middle of last week complete with a sardonic caption thanking everyone that had "spent the last few days talking about us."

 

[tartanterrier]

In that case it's just as well because it's the only thing that saves it's existence to be honest. I think eesexy made a good point earlier though, now that most folks cruise around getting the latest news from their smart phones. I guess there will finally come a time when the newspaper will truly be a thing of the past. Infact, I watched a program last week where they were discussing the future of the newspaper to which some old dinosaur claimed the newspaper was still his preferable choice because primarily "It felt good in his hand" :1orglaugh What a :rubbel: instantly sprang to mind.