STUDENTS turned a page on glamour modelling after hearing how images in newspapers can impact on women’s lives.
Year 10 and 12 students at The King’s Academy, Coulby Newham, discussed the issue with anti-Page 3 campaigner Angela Towers.
She told them the Page 3 model had existed in The Sun newspaper for the past 40 years and the No More Page 3 campaign was striving to get it dropped.
“I got a copy of The Sun after the Olympics super-Saturday and was amazed that it had been replaced by athletics,” she said.
“But then I found it on Page 11 and the image was much larger than that of Jessica Ennis who had won a gold medal.”
She said page two generally had images of men in suits when across the page there was a woman in a state of undress, which reinforced gender roles.
“Page 3 does not belong in a newspaper and devalues the news,” she said. “There is also a link between the consumption of such images and violence against women.
“We are not just talking about exploiting the women in the picture, it’s about all women and how they are perceived.”
Students heard that the petition to have the images removed had secured 200,000 signatures, including those of MPs and people representing charities.
“If you feel strongly about something you want to change you should go ahead and do it,” she said. “You have the power at your fingertips.”
Politics teacher at The King’s Academy Jenni Yuill said: “It was great to hear directly from a campaigner the wider implications of what many see as harmless images. It has certainly given our students food for thought.
“It’s important that our students have their eyes opened to contemporary issues that people feel strongly about today and are encouraged to debate a variety of subjects.”
