This week, according to The Sun, the newspaper marks 40 years of Page 3. Across the course of the week the paper promises further celebrations, including a giveaway of a pack of playing cards and images of popular Page 3 girls such as Sam Fox, Jordan and Linda Lusardi.
Although Page Three seemed to have a heyday in the 1980s, it remains popular both within the paper and online. Indeed the newspaper can credit much of its revenue to the presence of bare boobs on Page Three.
However, it is not without controversy and certainly over the past 40 years debates have raged over the presence of the page and what it stands for.
Some (particularly The Sun itself) have presented the paper as harmless fun, a bit of a joke that celebrates the female form. It has been seen as a means of launching highly lucrative careers for a number of women, and for that reason beyond reproach.
Others view Page Three far more negatively. Views here range from seeing it as a representation of sexism in action – that its very presence devalues and dehumanises women. Or that it contributes directly to sexual harassment of women and girls – either in encouraging men to see women as sex objects, or by the display of Page 3 images in places of work that make women feel excluded.
A slightly different interpretation of Page 3 linked to this is that it isn’t the cause of abuse in women but it is a symptom of an unequal and sexist society. Or that it is racist, presenting mainly young white women as the norm, while fetishising on the basis of race the minority of Black or Asian models who feature.
Complaining about Page 3 has presented people with problems, however. For example critics of the Sun’s editorial policies, treatment of its workers, or wider political aims have seen those as more important issues than challenging Page 3. And advocates of free speech within media have remained unsure what to say about calls for banning pictures of bare breasts. Others have questioned whether Page 3 really is a big enough issue to get upset about given other problems around housing, pay, childcare women have to deal with.
In the 1980s there were some debates around the impact of Page 3 with some academics such as Guy Cumberbatch questioning what effect it might have on human behaviour. His argument was that while hard core porn existed, it was not as accessible to people as Page 3 which was mainstream, and available on a daily basis with no restrictions. Cumberbatch and other academics questioned whether having more access to less explicit materials could have more impact on sexual behaviour. Anti porn feminists, though coming from a different position, also questioned the mainstreaming of Page 3 as part of our daily lives as being a means of reproducing sexism as an every day event.
Critics of Page 3 complained the images of women were not always the problem and the photos had to be viewed in the wider context of the captions that appeared alongside them and the news stories on the same and preceding pages. The appearance of stories of rape, child abuse, or more recently discussions of sexualisation of young people appearing within the same paper (or particularly close to a Page 3 image) can be seen as hypocritical and inappropriate.
Page 3 has not gone without direct challenge. In the 1990s Clare Short attempted to have Page 3 removed. Her experience of resulting backlash towards her (which was vicious and sustained) and responses from women was published in a book Dear Clare, this is what women feel about Page 3 you can read the Introduction here.
Regardless of how you feel about Page 3 this book is worth reading. It is a couple of decades old now but it is a fascinating record of a point in history and tackling a contentious issue. It highlights in particular the problems that can be faced in questioning sexual images in the media – and how attempts to silence critics centre on devaluing their argument with accusations of their being prudish, ugly, boring or anti sex.
Unfortunately discussions around Page 3 have often resulted in women being judged or blamed. Whether it’s women who oppose Page 3 being dismissed as killjoys or Page 3 girls constructed as stupid or immoral. Sadly some of the debates around Page 3 often pitted women against each other with feminists called to attack Page 3 stunnas by the media eager to orchestrate a bitch fight.
This missed the many relevant criticisms of women (and men) of the presence of Page 3, while targeted hostile and aggressive responses towards Page 3 models rather than at the Sun, its editors, staff, advertisers and readership. Even now debates around Page 3, when they happen, tend to focus on discussions that quickly degenerate into girl blaming and rehearse female victimisation stories rather than looking at wider issues of commercialisation and the Sun’s editorial approaches.
Part of the problem within this area is that not everyone who dislikes Page 3 can agree on exactly why they have a problem with it – or what should be done about it. It is possible to be pro porn but still have questions about Page 3, although this can cause tensions when discussing with predominantly anti porn groups. Indeed many people who have issues with sexually explicit media also have issues with the politics and actions of anti porn groups – making it complicated to talk about issues in a calm way.
Aimed at straight men, the assumption is that Page 3 has nothing to say to women (or that women universally oppose it). While the voices of bi and lesbian women have been heard less in discussions of Page 3 certainly it would be wrong to say women have only one (negative) response to the images. In her 1983 essay ‘The Page Three Girl Speaks to Women Too’ Patricia Holland discusses how the images in Page 3 show other women how they should look, dress, pose and act in order to ‘be sexy’ for their ‘fella’. Rather than just being something women dislike and turn the page on, Holland explains how the presence of Page 3 plays a role in constructing what female desire looks like.
This leads to perhaps some of the less reported struggles women have with Page 3. That they may feel it is sexist but they also feel it excludes them from relationships with men or sets up a standard of femininity to which they cannot compete with. Page 3 girls are young and selected for particular body shapes (the fashions for which have changed over the past 40 years). They are photographed in flattering poses to accentuate breasts and bums. This can make women feel insecure in comparison, or imply the normal or preferable female form is that shown on Page 3.
It may be easier to dismiss such concerns if the paper itself did not play upon them. Even in the recent celebrations of Page 3 the launch of a video that focuses on ‘the woman you would secretly like your woman to be’
Despite the major opposition to Page 3 in the late 1980s and early 1990s cultural changes more widely perhaps explain why we appear less bothered about it now. Lads’ mags, wider accessibility to the internet, a more mediated and commercialised culture have all led to more access to sexualised imagery than we had in the recent past. With such changes you may question why Page 3 remains so apparently popular? After all the images of topless women are no longer unique to that paper.
Page 3 seems to have been archived along with Carry On films and Benny Hill as a bygone representation of gentle sexism that we know is there but we turn a blind eye to. Or perhaps can be rewritten as an ironic joke.
Have we resolved how we feel about Page 3? Is it just a joke? Are we no longer bothered by it? Or has its presence over 40 years simply meant we see it as part of our media fixtures and fittings?
What does seem certain is Page 3 is unlikely to disappear. It is a very lucrative part of The Sun. But it is undoubtedly presenting women, and sex and the female body in a specific way. Claims that it’s empowering to women may be questioned given the gimmick that goes with the 40th anniversary to see the Page 3 girls in 360 (also available for the iPad) where you can “make our model go full screen and she’ll pirouette at your command”
It may be easy to simply dismiss Page 3 as sexist or silly, ignoring how it has been a major part of a particular publication for 40 years. Over that time our attitudes to sex and relationships, to sexual politics and to sexuality have changed. The paper itself has both reported and constructed desirability and the female form with shifting fashions for poses, breast sizes, hair styles and clothing. Studying the history of Page 3 and what it’s had to say about women and men is worthy of consideration.
Page 3 hitting 40 is perhaps not as interesting as the history that hides behind the page, and the fact that as it reaches this milestone there has been relatively little public response. Certainly people don’t seem to be joining in the celebrations, but nor are many people speaking up about concerns over Page 3 or views on female imagery in the media more widely.
Perhaps people feel these debates no longer need to be had. I’m not so sure this is right. Page 3 presents us with a number of often uncomfortable issues for discussion, many of which we haven’t resolved. If The Sun is celebrating this is a good a time as any to debate the presence of Page 3 – and the politics of the paper more widely.
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World AIDS Day 2010
Today is World AIDS Day with events taking place globally around the theme of Universal Access and Human Rights. You can follow discussions about the day with links to activities and organisations involved on twitter using the hashtags #WAD2010 and #PreventionRevolution
Access is an important but often overlooked issue within this area. Getting education to help people protect themselves from HIV or making care available for people with HIV/AIDS are both still major problems being faced worldwide. Particularly in resource poor communities. Women, children, sex workers, LGBT communities may find it more difficult to reach basic educational and health services, particularly in countries with gender inequalities or where homosexuality is illegal. A lack of critical reflection on the meanings of masculinity within research and care around HIV/AIDS can often mean mens’ health needs or problems can be overlooked or only focused on in negative terms.
Aside from funding and staffing issues, access to HIV services can center around transport and roads, availability of aid, poverty, housing, and education generally (particularly literacy programmes). Not to mention problems of rape and sexual violence, domestic abuse and availability of medication.
Access isn’t just about treatment services for those living with HIV/AIDS but also around prevention and treatment programmes. Which can often be blocked by moral or political opposition or apathy. Which is why access and human rights are interlinked. People deserve the right to have accurate information to help them protect themselves from HIV or gain appropriate care and support if they are positive.
The theme of access for the coming year is an important one and hopefully will be an opportunity for health care staff, educators and researchers to focus on a broader definition of the term. Access also applies to the education, training and support of staff working in health and social care in HIV/AIDS. We still have problems with a lack of open access for many academic journals covering issues staff need to be aware of and that should be something we all press for in the next twelve months.
Easily available and high quality education programmes for staff also need to be based on the specific needs of communities, encourage capacity building and are constructivist in nature – using the lived experiences and local contexts of staff to inform their teaching. Currently much teaching, while well intentioned, is delivered in a context-free, top down and short term fashion. Illustrated here with these wonderfully reflective pieces by Matt Greenall here and here. This can result in programmes that tell people what they ought to do, but not how to achieve this – and how to amend messages if they don’t fit people’s personal or local needs. A lack of sustainability and support within programmes can also often leave communities disempowered and distrustful of research, education or health initiatives.
There can also be a problem around applying what we know. All too often funding for HIV programmes can lead to people deciding to do more research (a survey or focus group) without consulting the existing evidence base on this area which could well inform practice and save time. This is not to say there’s no place for research in HIV/AIDS. Just for practitioners to think carefully about what they are doing and why they are doing it. Critical reflection on both our research and teaching in this area is essential if we wish to improve upon current care and outcomes for the communities we serve.
Health educators and researchers working in this area often struggle themselves with limitations of time, money and demands of funders and local/national politics. Not to mention barriers caused by internalising homophobic, sex negative and gender/class/tribal judgements. With a call to consider access it is important we focus more critically about the teaching we offer and how this work can have meaningful outcomes that include and work with communities.
A couple of examples of this in action can be found in the recent Distance Learning for Health conference which brought together health educators who shared examples of good practice and reflected on ways to improve their work internationally. A review of the event and access to presentations given can be found here. While Contestations provides space for practitioners, activists and educators to debate and think critically around topics related to healthcare that often are oversimplified or overlooked. And, as you can see from Matt Greenall’s posts above are crucial to reflect upon if we’re to improve our understanding of health and human rights.
Finding ways to share knowledge and educational resources can be a powerful approach to tackling HIV/AIDS, but equally importantly allows us to remember that HIV is not the only health problem the world is facing. Thinking about access to education and creative ways of providing this can also allow us to consider additional issues that are impacted upon by HIV but can also be ignored because of a focus on HIV/AIDS. Things like maternity services, mental health, disability, tackling poverty, or managing non communicable diseases, or infections such as TB or malaria.
I will share more on the blog about programmes I hear about in expanding access to education and prevention and would be keen to hear from bloggers, institutions or organisations who are finding creative ways to introduce empowering, critical and reflexive educational programmes with health care staff on HIV (and related issues).
In the meantime if you are thinking these are interesting issues but ones you cannot contribute to directly, here are 10 things you can do in the fight against HIV/AIDS.