Just as the feminists were about to celebrate, a topless model reappeared on Page 3 of the UK-based newspaper The Sun on Thursday. A couple of days prior to that, the activists campaigning for no breasts in the national newspaper were about to put away their “No More Page 3” banners after The Sun did not put a topless woman on its famous Page 3 for three days, prompting the international media to praise the decision as a “victory” for feminists.
But just as some were ready to pop the champagne, the newspaper tweeted a picture of Thursday’s Page 3 of a blonde-haired model, winking, and yes, topless. The caption said "clarifications and corrections".
It is unclear if The Sun has decided to drop its topless pin-up girls. And it is not certain how much the near-naked women helped boost sales of the publication.
To blame a newspaper that carries sexy photos of women for causing all sorts of social ills may be an exaggeration. But calls from activist groups for the paper to be more responsible for their content shows that the public have high expectations of the role of the media.
Women have the right to display their bodies how they see fit. A generation ago women exerted their rights with acts like burning their bras, a sign of women’s liberation in the ’60s. Some also willingly showed their bodies for good causes. A good example of this was a group of elderly women in their seventies and eighties raising funds for a retirement centre by posing naked for a calendar in 2000, a source of inspiration for Helen Mirren’s movie Calendar Girls.
The image of these women’s bodies wowed audiences, who saw how these senior women had aged gracefully. This was a daring yet creative pose, mixed with a sense of humour and wit. Their images transcended their wrinkles and revealed the true charm of real human beings.
Some Thai media have, unfortunately, been influenced by The Sun and often carry photos of sexy girls on their front pages. Of course, there are no nipples as they are not allowed to be shown under Thai law. However, photos of pin-up girls often feature lots of cleavage. Many of these images cover up to a quarter of the front pages. It is unclear if these photos boost circulation.
Some Thai papers have stopped publishing sexy photos of women. One leading Thai-language daily used to carry pin-up pictures in its Sunday edition, but dropped them a few years ago. However, other local newspapers still publish sexy pin-up pictures on their front pages every Sunday. Every media outlet is entitled to make its own editorial decisions. Some choose to use provocative photos to attract public interest. A photogenic movie star certainly gets more looks than a picture of a boring politician. Professionally-done news photos can show an unexpected incident or an image of certain high-profile people, and that is of strong interest to the public. Pictures of a repetitive nature tend to be less newsworthy and of little value to readers.
For instance, a picture of a public figure walking to his office every day would not gain much attention from readers, but a shot of the same person accidentally falling down a flight of stairs would.
The pin-up models in The Sun and in some of our local media, however, have become repetitive — young girls exposing their cleavages or their backsides on front pages. The same pattern has continued here for years, and in The Sun's case, for 40 years. This continuing theme may be contributing to the fact that some people only see women as sex objects.
When people go to a news-stand every day and see pictures of scantily-clad women displayed on the front pages of many publications, some may start to see this as normal and think these young women are simply sex objects. However, there is no scientific link between images of pin-up girls and sexual violence against women. But an ongoing exposure to these images could have a detrimental affect on many, especially the young members of society.
It is natural that every newspaper wants to attract more readers, and some decide that the way to do it is by printing huge photos of good looking people, both male and female. But the real issue is the message that comes with it. The style of the photos and a stereotyped pattern can have a negative influence. And it is not only images of sexy women in print, but a number of Thai television soap operas also show scenes which promote sexism during prime time every night. The way things are reported in any media can send out the wrong message, most of the time unintentionally, but the media has a responsibility to send out the right message and influence the way people think in a positive way.