The Mighty 200,000

If you clicked on this post thinking that the "200,000" was referring to the amount of views on this humble little blog of mine then all I will say to you is "I wish!!" No, I'm talking about one of the few things born on the internet that I can actually praise rather than rant about like I have done lately. No More Page 3 is an organisation who are trying to get rid of the topless photos which leap out at readers of British tabloid, The Sun, the second the first page is turned. This once small group just hit 200,000 members! 

Why do naked women appear in newspapers? Surely people who purchase The Sun (no matter what personal prejudices I have against them) want news, not nudity? It is hard for me to understand how degradation and objectification of women found it's way into mainstream publication in the first place, but 42 years on, isn't it old news? 

Former Green Party representative and MP, Caroline Lucas, recently caused quite a stir in Parliament by revealing her No More Page 3 t-shirt. Not only are political figures becoming aware of the campaign and it's desire to change the way the nation broadcasts and receives the news, celebrities including Russell Brand, Eliza Doolittle and adamant feminist/Times columnist Caitlin Moran are supporters, too. Moran even commented "teenage tits aren't news OR a feature". Too right. 

My mother tried to tell me that Page 3 is perfectly fine because the girls being featured are doing so out of choice, and are not being pressured into doing anything by The Sun. Whether this is true or not, this is still irrelevant to the topic of whether boobs should be in the news. And anyway, I doubt the page 3 girls think "woop-de-bloody-doo, I love being objectified by men I don't know! Let's plaster my bare boobs in one of the most popular newspapers in the country, which is displayed well in reach of young children, and suggest to them that my body (and eventually theirs) is the only part of me that anyone really cares about!!" with much delight. 

Let's make 2014 the year boobs were taken out of the news. 

Join in the discussion on Twitter with the #NoMorePage3 hashtag, or sign the petition on change.org (https://www.change.org/p/david-dinsmore-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3 here's the link if, like me, you're a lazy sod who can't be bothered to google it. You have no excuse now!!). Hopefully, I will not have to make any future posts on this issue, as it's nearing the final push it needs to come true. Fingers crossed!!