A fantastic article by YBF activist Marina Muttik. Marina is a student at the University of Bristol.
Less than two weeks after the shock of the Charlie Hebdo attack when a radical group tried to impose their religious and moral standpoint upon the western press; The Sun have so graciously backed this by giving in to the radical feminist movement, No More Page 3, and censoring images that did not conform to their moral standpoint. Good show of giving in to who shouts loudest.
While nowhere near as severe as the Hebdo attack, it comes down to the same thing – Freedom of press and speech being undermined by those who claim to somehow speak for all of us. It’s these little things that chip away at the freedom of the press from the bottom up that harm us, because we do not see them. Of course, as a group they are equally entitled to their opinion; but as former Page Three girl Chloe Goodman says, who are they to tell other women how to live, undermining the whole premise of the original feminist movement who worked together to get women the vote.
Page Three girls are being described as exploited victims, women who don’t oppose Page Three as ‘in fear’ and somehow its existence is supposedly linked with rape and domestic abuse. Now if I know anything about equality, putting other women down and condemning all men as uncontrolled pigs is not it. There are far bigger and important issues that radicals could be focusing on rather than one page in one newspaper.
Never mind the fact that Page Three, in the grand scheme of things, is not all that different to porn; the half naked men in Calvin Klein adverts; nude sculptures or art (many of a sexual nature); or even the choices everyone makes in how they choose to dress every day. As a free market, the people choose what sells, whether it’s The Sun or rather skimpy boxers, and the free market will provide it. Page Three has existed since 1970, and the fact it’s in a national newspaper makes no difference – you have the liberty to not buy it.
So what has this censoring achieved exactly by dressing up Page Three girls in bras? The simple answer is nothing. People will just look elsewhere for their pleasures, the antis will still complain of it objectifying and demeaning women and people will continue to be more and more offended by the press. We shouldn’t just focus on the big Hebdo type issues when they come up, and nor should we surrender to things that continue to undermine our freedom and logic.
