Policing Papers Won’t Stop Sexualization

Women’s rights campaigners have demanded that UK newspapers be put under scrutiny. They claim that mainstream newspapers such as The Sun objectify women. This is just one of the papers which features a topless “Page 3″ model.

While living in the UK I found it shocking to find half-naked women in a mainstream newspaper which can be purchased by children. I think there is a time and place for everything and the place for erotica is not sandwiched between two news headlines. It weakens the credibility of the paper if nothing else. But if girls want to pose and people want to buy the paper they should be allowed to do so.

Judge Brian Leveson has begun and an investigation into the media ethics of British news providers. It has already revealed several confessions from reporters claiming to have used illegal or unethical methods of obtaining information.

If news is being reported inaccurately, to the detriment of the people involved, I think disciplinary action should be taken. But as far as the portrayal of women in the media there is no way the government can mediate this. While creating a newspaper is journalism it is still a creative art. As long as it is factual you cannot tell someone how to write a story — and why would you want to?

It is not the paper who we should be scrutinizing but rather the people who purchase them. The sexualization of women is constant. Trying to control the way others portray women is both exhaustive and fruitless. The media are portraying women the way society does which is why it is consistently derogatory.

The only way to disrupt the patriarchal ideology we live in is to educate people. The Leveson investigation will prove to be very interesting in terms of how ethical journalism can be conducted. But as far as the representation of an entire gender is concerned, the investigation needs to be conducted on society — not the media.

Contact the author here: lacey@morningquickie.com