I have never seen so much confusion surrounding a campaign than 'No More Page 3' (NMP3). Yes, I am young and not world weary, but as a supporter of the cause I have certainly grown weary of the misconceptions and the false assumptions about what the organisers are saying. So I propose to tell you exactly what the campaign is NOT:
1.It is not against free speech. The campaign is asking members of the public to sign a petition asking the editor to make a voluntary change. If you sign the petition, you are declaring that you don't like to see topless women displayed on Page 3 of The Sun Newspaper, for whatever reason you choose. There are many reasons to support it and simply saying you disagree with a part of the paper is perfectly reasonable.
2.It is not anti-breasts at all. It just feels that the context of a family newspaper is wrong for these images and The Sun newspaper sends out very different messages about each gender. One is dominant, powerful and depicted in clothes doing things like running the country and achieving in sport; whilst the other is shown passive and naked for the former to ogle.
Photo by Jack Fletcher
3.It is not 'flat-chested women complaining'. First of all, that's a disgusting term to use to describe a woman, as if all that matters is boobs. Secondly, it is pure presumption that this declaration is out of jealousy. The campaign is taking a stance against objectification, not a moan that some people having bigger boobs than others.
4.It is not talking about other newspapers, magazines, photos, platforms other than the Sun Newspaper. So many people point to other forms of objectification for women such as some magazines, model photos of the 'size zero' issue and miss the point that NMP3 is a targeted campaign. By focussing on 1 media outlet it is not saying that other forms of objectification are okay. Targeted campaigns are more successful and the 'institution' aspect of Page 3 compared to other forms of media also makes it more of a point to tackle.
5.It is not just women who support it. There are plenty of men that do. It may be primarily women, because guess what! It's mostly women that are affected by it.
Photo by Jack Fletcher
6.It is not saying glamour modelling is bad. The campaign supports the right of women to enter into any employment they wish, the issue is context! These images should be displayed in an appropriate forum, not a family newspaper.
7.It is not saying that this change will cure sexism in British society. Sexism and misogyny is so imprinted in society and needs a lot more than the loss of Page 3 to turn that around. However, Page 3 has been mentioned to girls during acts of sexual assault, as reported on The Everyday Sexism Project. This clearly demonstrates its detrimental effect.
8.It is not meaningless; any change to rid sexism should be explored. There are bigger issues in the world, no doubt about that. But this opinion is based on government reports that sexualised pictures of women are damaging to children.
9.It is not middle class people telling what others should do. It is a collective of people from many social classes that oppose the context of the images. It is also not calling for a ban but for the editor to voluntarily remove it.
Photo by Jack Fletcher
10.It is not just people that don't read The Sun Newspaper. There are many supporters that read The Sun and support the campaign, such as Sun columnist Karren Brady.
11.It is not anti-The Sun Newspaper. The campaign is solely about Page 3 and the images of naked women on Page 3 each weekday posing seductively to the reader.
12.It is not just a few people. As I write this, over 187,000 people support it, and this figure is rising every hour.
Finally- what is IS= A plea to ask the editor of the Sun Newspaper to remove topless women images from its newspaper because the signatory believes it is not appropriate for a family newspaper and topless women should be celebrated in more appropriate contexts.
Photos by Jack Fletcher