Our straight talking Lancashire lass takes a sideways look at the daily news.
The end of 'Page 3'? Great!
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Page 3 has been the staple of red top tabloids for decades. Where ‘Mercedes from Essex’ celebrates her love of tennis by getting her knockers out and talking about world peace – all for the benefit of red-blooded blue-collar men….‘Get yer tits out for the lads!’
Tabloids were banned in our house when I was growing up, because my folks didn’t want me and my brother exposed to this institutional form of soft porn.
Thankfully, this tacky, tasteless addition to British newspapers is set to end. Rupert Murdoch has opaquely hinted on Twitter that he will be axing Page 3 from his papers – replacing them with ‘Glamorous Fashionistas’.
The very thought of an octogenarian like Mr Murdoch talking about young ladies in that way puts me off my breakfast. He sounds like a pervy old man. Creepy. But I digress…
Page 3 with clothes on
What is a ‘Glamorous Fashionista’? Could Katie Price be described as one? What about Kelly Brookes? Jodie Marsh? Because they still wear clothes that, let’s face it, look as though they have been designed by Playboy’s Hugh Hefner. And this still gives out the same message – that women can be fashionable, but only if they are sexy. Remember that Murdoch owns most of the media, so it will be a very loud and clear message that will reach a lot of people.
What this points to is the ‘pornification’ of our society. I’ll spell it out – the porn industry has pretty much normalised sex – often extreme sex - in fashion, advertising and pop culture (just watch any of Rihanna or Lady Gaga’s music videos). Sex sells, so go figure. Note the inexplicable popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, one of the most badly written books in the history of mankind – and all the spin-off franchises. And then of course there is the issue of children accessing sexual images via their mobile devices and the Internet. It’s a booming, albeit disgusting industry.
We are saturated with sex. But not normal sex – we’re looking at a specific, impossible cartoon-version of sex that is totally defined by the porn industry. And it is corroding our society. Katie Price, glamour model and Queen of the Top Shelf Mags is still considered a suitable role model for young girls – what does that tell us?
Mr Murdoch scrapping Page 3 is wonderful, in theory – but what will it be replaced by? Sexy fashion? If that’s the case, is it not still buying into the narrative that women = boobs & bum and no more? Does he not mean ‘Glamorous Fashionista Glamour Models’?
It’s all so grubby. I need a shower now.
