Do you want sauce with that?

Dear Mr Wainright,




I am writing to you again as head of customer relations as frankly I am feeling increasingly disturbed by the nature of your marketing strategy front of shop, which is ensuring that increasingly I don't feel very comfortable in my local Supermarket.


Now let me be clear Mr Wainright on one thing, I am a woman of the world, I have been (how can I put this) around the block and at my age I find not much shocks me any more. I have for example wandered into Ann Summers on more than one occasion having forgotten my specs and mistaken the underweared window display for Jessops. Thankfully I recovered from the initial confusion in the "toy department" soon enough to avoid buying a highly inappropriate present for a work colleague's baby shower and was able to quite enjoy the experience, mesmerised as I was by the sheer number of multi-coloured, multi-sized, phalluses before me, who knew.


No Mr W, I am no prude and I will not have it said that I am but what I am not able to cope with is the regularity with which I now see items for.....shall we say.. "private use" marketed on offer just inside the door of your otherwise welcoming store.


Frankly it confuses me, it really does, given that in every other respect I can see a lot of thought has gone into the presentation of your shops. The layout is such that on entering, no matter for what small item I may be "popping in", I can be instantly distracted by...for example, the latest book releases, a comfy looking fleecy blanket and slippers or seasonally perhaps sunglasses and flip flops. You will then draw me in further to other "must haves" and I confess I am not immune to the charms of a nice wine, a new picnic set or even a couple of lovely puddings. But Sir, there is a limit!


I realise Mr Wainright that I am what you might now class as middle aged but that does not mean I am out of touch and I honestly think some things just aren't right for a supermarket and frankly I am somewhat tired of having to complain in your store. I am therefore writing to you a second time, appealing to your senses, as I'm afraid this weeks prominent display of a free dental dam with the chardonnay frankly took the biscuit!




Now I am a forgiving person and I can see how these things might slip through the net from time to time. Your customer services representative was as always very understanding and promptly moved the eyesore to the back of shop but it perturbs me sir that I have to keep pointing out the inappropriateness of this. So frequent is the problem that last week I spent a full 10 minutes of my shopping time discussing with a young man why it really wasn't a good idea to have "blow up dolls" with the waterwings by the door even if it was "Summer FUN Time"and only last month I had to explain to a lovely middle aged and somewhat confused shop assistant that the "Rampant Rabbits" weren't good shelf fellows with the Easter eggs as a cheeky Easter extra even if they were on BOGOF.


I had originally presumed this to perhaps be a local issue that could be remedied by some focused training of store staff but sadly I have found that this is not the case. It appears that the issue is national as I realised to my cost when on visiting a friend in Leicester I nipped into your store and they attempted to entice me with some free lube with my kumquats?!


I'm sorry Mr Wainright, I am generally not one for writing letters at all but to be frank your first reply was woefully inadequate. Whilst I accept that decisions about freebies and contents are, as you put it "decided by  the manufacturers and producers of these products" I  will not be, as you suggested "taking up my issue with them" as I have no intention of buying their goods. I am however Mr W shopping in your store and as a regular customer and whilst you may have your market reasons for stocking these things I find it difficult to understand your justification for giving such inappropriate items pride of place at front of shop. Surely this tactic risks alienating a sizeable number of your customers, particularly those with young families in tow? 


So Mr Wainright rest assured this will be my final letter. I hope to goodness you will see sense and act on mine and others complaints (I happen to know that there are many others who, equally confused and disturbed ,have also spoken out on this matter). I am now sadly giving some serious thought to taking my custom elsewhere but am sending this in the vain hope that in the future I and others will be able to enter your stores without fear of ever being invited again to purchase a strap-on with a bath bomb.


Yours Sincerely and Hopefully,




Mrs A Noyed




Dear reader - Clearly the above is fictitious but I would suggest it is equally inappropriate and none family friendly to display newspapers which regularly portray women inside and often on the front cover as sexual fodder for men on a sponsored and conspicuous stand in clear view and reach of children in our supermarkets week on week?
What's more when asked a direct question, repeptitively by customers about the supermarket's policy of displaying these pornpapers in such an endorsed fashion they dismiss concerns or continually refer customers back to the editor of the paper as you can see here.  I don't think that covers it, do you?

Page 3 Lions

It's coming soon
It's coming soon
Oh page 3's...
End is coming soon
(x4)

Been here so long it's such a bore
We've seen it all before
Boobs aren't news
And we're sure

That Murdoch's gonna
Throw it away
Say that it cannot stay
Cos society say
The time has come now...

We've all got the shirt
We've even bought the team in
40 Years of hurt
Never stopped us dreaming

So many jokes, so many jeers (Shouts of get you're tits out love)
Familiar to our ears
Wear you down
Through the years

And we can see that
Porn in the news
Women shown as just boobs
Reinforces the mood
Of street harassment

We've all got the shirt
We've even bought the team in
40 Years of hurt
Never stopped us dreaming

(4 Bars here of music with no vocals and background footy commentary - we could have the teams playing and one of us commentating saying what a shame none of this great play will ever reach the papers tomorrow)

It wasn't right then
Never will be again

It's coming soon
It's coming soon
Oh page 3's
End is coming soon
(x4)

We've all got the shirt
We've even bought the team in
40 Years of hurt
Never stopped us dreaming
(repeat to fade)

Women make the news just like men do

There's a new world somewhere
They call The Promised Land
And we'll be there some day
If you will understand
We need you to recognise us
For all we say and do
Be-cause women make the news just like men do


Each of us is someone
With so much more to say
And you could show that we are someone
Each and every day
Perhaps we could keep our clothes on
You'll find we mostly do
You see women make the news just like men do


Been a long, long journey
Since 19 70
When we've come so far
Why still page 3, WHY PAGE 3?


Sun please keep this up now
And Please don't drop the ball
If we lose this change tomorrow
We make no progress at all
But if you could  feature women
For all they say and do
For I know women make news just like men do
[Instrumental Interlude]




Just like men do, just like men do

Co-op motion

Thank you fellow co-op ,Members for allowing me to bring this motion today.

I have been a member of the co-operative for approximately 15 years. I joined when my children were little because I saw that Co-op lead the way on ethical issues - the fair trade the employment of staff with disabilities. The local co-op felt like a real community I liked the feeling of being part of that with my family.


As my children began to grow and ask questions I noticed with increasing disquiet the sexualisation of the world around them and the way it represented women.





It's a strange thing that so many don't notice but once you start to notice it it is quite horrifying - In many shops and supermarkets soft porn was at child head height. Graphic sexualised images of women staring at us as we chose a magazine or grabbed some milk. Even In my local Co-op - the Sport and Star were prominently displayed at pushchair height often opposite children's magazines, Easter eggs or advent calendars.

That has changed now and I really, really want to thank you co-op for last year recognising this issue for the important one it is and stopping the display of lads mags and the awful Sport


Co-op lead the way once again this time to reduce objectification of women and protect children.


In doing this you have addressed an issue most retailers refuse to acknowledge and having done so  I am here today to ask you, at a difficult time I know, to please consider taking a step further


Campaigns to change this situation are growing and gaining in support from groups like Mumsnet, girlguides and many more, over 45 are listed on their website.


If you look at recent covers of The Star and Sun covers are increasingly not dissimilar to those that appeared on Nuts and other lads mags. Unlike lads mags however The Sun is heavily endorsed with promotional stands and prominent display in many stores.


Increasingly there are challenges - many consumers are directly asking store managers to remove or turn papers around, the recent Page 3 v. Breast cancer cover was removed from the shelves in many ASDA stores


No matter however what the front page may display - just inside, the biggest image of a woman is one of her not for her contribution to the news but standing in her pants for the sexual gratification of men 


This image of a very young woman is not in the context of a pornographic magazine but, I would argue far more damagingly out of context.
 Normalising the presentation of women as sexual objects for consumption next to news stories.
Sold, not  discreetly like an adult publication but in a family newspaper with full display and endorsement, very prominently in family stores, supermarkets and shops daily.
Supported with the advertising revenue of ethical and family friendly companies including co-op.


I understand the draw if this big audience - a wide reaching newspaper. But next to it's news of crime, politics, sport and images of men in suits and sportswear featured for their contribution to the news, is a huge image of a voiceless, young topless woman.


What does this say about attitudes to women's place in society and what does it say to customers about the attitudes of retailers who continue to market it or market themselves in association with it?

I am, as you may have noticed a 40 year old woman of the world,
I have seen lots and lots of breasts,
I even have my own believe it or not,
I am not offended by bare breasts or afraid of my children seeing them. I am not shy about nudity.


But coop I am offended and angry that my gender, 50% of the population, are being presented  as sexualized fodder for the other 50% in a news publication. That this has been accepted and fiscally displayed by retailers and supported by the money I spend on feeding my family. Would a racist or homophobic feature be so accepted?


There is now a wealth of evidence of the harmful effects of sexualised and stereotypical images of women in the media. Of the connections between this and the ongoing harassment, violence and rape. The EU has recognised this enough to write a commission document, signed by our uk government calling for urgent change.
  

The figures on violence against women in the uk today are damning 


Co-op members I have so little time to ask for your help


and I know that we the Co-operative face so many challenges at present that need to take priority,


I don't wish in anyway to undermine the importance of that. But I would also hate if in all of that struggle the Co-op lost the thing that sold it to me and so many others in the first place.


I trust you Co-op to lead the way.


Please stop associating the Co-op's name and brand with The Sun and page 3. Please stop supporting the sexism with your/ our money and please place this clearly adult content on a top shelf

Let's be the change we want to see in the world.


Thank you.

No More Page 3 and Class War

The below is one of my favourite blogs ever to come from NMP3HQ, written by HQer Jo Cheetham it was originally shared by Vagenda in 2013. The link to that now appears not to be working so in the interests of never ever losing this masterpiece I am sharing it here.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you Jo's reply to ex-deputy editor of The Sun Neil Wallis :)



Oh, Neil. Neil 'The Wolfman' Wallis. I want to be angry with you, I really do, but I just can't be. You see, you remind me of my Uncle Mick, the one who does horrifically inappropriate, embarrassing things like calling nurses 'dolly birds' and asking women in Argos if they need a man to put up their shelves. You just constantly put your foot in it.

For example, on Channel 5 news, you stubbornly denied that Page Three could in any way damage the self-esteem of young girls, and weirdly referred to the Girlguides as 'middle class, politically correct women' whilst constantly talking over Becky Hewitt and Emma Crosby about the guides' 'lovely website' being full of 'flower meadows and cakes.' And when the No More Page 3 campaign started, you made a series of uneducated, sweeping statements about class distinctions and bizarrely wrote that we were 'scrapping furiously for the nation's attention' with badgers. It was just weird, Neil. See, I can't help but think you're a decent bloke really, who's just lost the plot a bit. I'm worried about the people you've been hanging around with. I fear that you've lost touch with reality. Let me help you, Neil.

Firstly, describing the 184,493 No More Page 3 supporters as 'overwhelmingly white, middle-class, aged late 20s-late 30s, university educated' and insisting that they 'work in academia, meejah, public services, know what macrobiotic means and how to use a fondue set, don't watch X Factor, go to Greece on their holidays, read the Guardian and watch Channel 4 News, suffer serious sense of humour loss at certain times' was staggeringly ignorant and way off the mark. Firstly, our supporters are extremely diverse - via the wizardry of social media I've encountered a real mix of them, including: young men who are ashamed of 'lad culture,' teenage girls who attend comprehensive schools, lorry drivers, dads concerned that their children will grow up to think that seeing a teenager's breasts in a newspaper is normal, Sun readers who find Page Three an embarrassment but otherwise like the paper, vicars, teachers (I could go on, but I won't, in case you become restless and start shouting at the computer about badgers again).

Secondly, don't you realise that by regarding the above traits as 'middle class' you're presuming that 'working class' Sun readers ('The Sun is a largely working-class newspaper') are the antithesis: uneducated, reality TV aficionados who lack the sophistication required to pierce a bit of bread with a fork and dip it into some cheese? Really, Neil, you're going with that? (NB: I'm not sure the middle classes have 'done' fondue since the 'Abigail's Party' era, but perhaps I'm moving in the wrong circles).

Oh! But you don't leave it there, Neil! You go on to hint that working class women don't worry about Page Three! No! They have more pressing matters at hand: 'they worry about their kids' health, the rent, putting food on the table, work, their relationship, benefits scroungers, immigration, the telly, and a drink at the weekend.' WOW! The way you get inside the heads of these working class women is staggering, Neil: William Beveridge meets Cosmo. It's good to know that the poor are too busy wiping babies' arses and opening tins of spaghetti hoops to think about 'issues.' They're too busy slagging off immigrants down the pub to worry about a silly little thing like sexism! Except that's a massive load of steaming crap, Neil. You see, the thing is, I'm working class. I was brought up on a council estate in an over-crowed, damp house. We were so poor that my dad had to make a settee. I went to an abysmal comprehensive school, where the careers advisor encouraged my bilingual sister to be a dog handler and my English teacher told me that Icarus flew too close to the sun, turned into a sausage and fell into the sea. Every house I went to as a child had a copy of The Sun on the dining table. I know what The Sun is; I was brought up with it. I bet I've known more Sun readers than you have, Neil.

Let me share a few experiences of The Sun from when I was growing up:

1) 1986 on holiday. I'm six. My mum and I were forced to eat our sandwiches on the wall outside the Haven holiday camp café, because two men at the next table were holding up Page Three and loudly talking about how they wanted to 'do that.'
2) 1992 at school. I ran home in tears after a group of builders taunted me by saying 'you'll be on Page Three when you're older and your tits get bigger.'
3) 1998 at work. A group of men in a pub I worked in compared my breasts to those of the model on Page Three, saying 'it's difficult to tell - let's give 'em a feel, then we'll know how big they are' before trying to grab my breasts while I was serving a customer.

Just because my family were poor and struggled to pay the council tax, doesn't mean that I wasn't upset, angry, embarrassed and frightened on these occasions. I doubt you've ever felt threatened by someone double your age, weight, height and strength Neil but, let me tell you, worrying that you'll never be able to afford purple sprouting broccoli really doesn't enter your head while you're terrified that somebody the size and bulk of a bus is going to assault you. Stop patronising the Girlguides by dismissing their concerns. Stop insulting us by telling us to focus on 'bigger issues.' Stop pretending that this is a class war: it's not. It's an issue of respect, empathy and understanding and, to understand the issues that affect half of the population, you need to listen to women's voices. Their actual voices, not just the ones you invent in your head as a result of too much Coronation street and Jeremy Kyle. We have nothing against glamour models. We don't object to people looking at top shelf magazines. We object to semi-naked images of very young women (printed purely for the sexual gratification of men) appearing in a 'family' newspaper alongside pictures of clothed men of all ages, shown to be actively doing things, achieving things. We object to these images appearing in newspapers that are seen on buses and trains, in workplaces, in public libraries, in schools. I can't be bothered to respond to your comment about us denying a woman 'stuck behind the bread counter at Tesco' the opportunity to find 'a new glamorous life via Page Three.' I'd rather stab myself in the eye with a biro than read that sickeningly patronising paragraph ever again.

Oh, but there is one more thing Neil: the name. I know you like going by 'The Wolfman' moniker but I've been thinking about it, and would like to suggest an alternative: 'The Shih Tzu.' You see, my friend Paul used to have a very stubborn Shih Tzu named Tinker who was tiresome, embarrassing and a bit 'yappy' and used to hide under the bed whenever it heard a woman's voice. It has a nice ring to it - Neil 'The Shih Tzu' Wallis. You're welcome.

Hello, my name is Lisa Clarke and I am a member of the No More Page 3 Campaign team.


I still love saying that and have a little laugh to myself, a small pinch me reality check every time I do. You see I'm not some high achieving academic feminist, not a politician, not a middle class busy body I am instead a Nottingham born and bred mother of 2, a nurse of 20 years from a working class background and a marathon runner (I know that's not relevant and I've actually only run one marathon but I'm rather proud of it and like to get it in wherever I can) and quite frankly I have no idea how I've ended up involved in all of this or why anybody thought I'd be any good at it.


The No More Page 3 Campaign was started in August of 2012 by Actress and Author Lucy-Anne Holmes. It was during the London 2012 Olympics that Lucy bought a copy of The Sun following ‘Super Saturday’ when lots of gold medals were won many by female athletes, she picked that particular paper because of its’ reputation for sports coverage. Whilst leafing through it she discovered that Page three wasn’t there and instead the page had been taken up by pictures of sporting achievements. Thinking the feature had been dropped as a sign of respect to the Olympians she was later dismayed to find it on page 11. The page 3 image was still the largest image of a woman in the paper that day, larger than the image of Jessica Ennis who had just won gold for her country. Lucy describes that moment as being a ‘huge slap in the face. A reminder that it’s a man’s world’. She wrote to the then editor Dominic Mohan, who never responded, and so she decided to start a petition and a twitter and Facebook page.


It was in the September that I signed the petition (link - http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-dinsmore-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3) myself. I can't actually remember where I saw it or who shared it but having had my own feminist awakening about 6 months before that I was in the habit of following many feminist twitter accounts and was reading and learning with a hunger, all I could on the subject.

I signed quickly and then followed the accounts on twitter and Facebook, immediately getting involved in heated debates both on the campaign's page and on my own wall. I was amazed at how controversial an issue this was, at how hard some people would argue for the right to keep this topless, sexy picture where they could access it easily with their morning toast or in their break at work. Despite this confusion about who it was that owned the boobs thee days I found many like minded friends locally and in the Autumn of 2012 we organised local demonstrations in Beeston and Nottingham town centre collecting over 600 signatures.


Although I lamented the fact that I was so far from London where so much of the action seemed to be happening, I had never particularly considered getting more involved or thought that I had anything to offer, until in January of 2013 I received the email from Lucy which invited myself along with 5 others to join her in running the campaign. Considering how overwhelming it can be I still marvel at how Lucy managed to sustain NMP3 for so long with minimal help but for the first 6 months she did exactly that. By December she was burning out very badly and the campaign went very quiet. Her invitation to join her was from the heart, from a woman that had such passion but could no longer sustain it alone. As well as being bemused as to why she had chosen somebody like me with so little to recommend me, I was also struck by how easily this inspiring woman shared selflessly what must have very much felt like her baby, so completely, with people she mostly didn't know at all, but share it she did and No More Page 3 HQ was born. We immediately began sharing the load of running the twitter account and Facebook page between us, we discussed strategy and lobbying and were alive with ideas. It was clear right from the outset that I had joined a team of women that were multi-skilled, filled with passion and who were going to completely change my life and change it they did.




Over the last 14 months I have had some amazing experiences I have driven cars overloaded with campaigners and a giant cardboard cut-out Lego page 3 girl from London to Windsor, I have chatted online and in real life with celebrity supporters, I have used skills I had no idea I could transfer from my day job and have learnt many new ones.


My years of nursing have allowed me to speak with compassion and understanding to supporters who are slowly dismantling their own experiences of sexism, sharing the unhappiness with their body or sadly sometimes sharing experiences of abuse connected with or influenced in some way by page 3. The teaching and speaking I have done at nursing study days and conferences has been swapped for standing up in a debate and talking with passion about why this icon of the sexist 70's needs to go.
Strangely a dance class I used to be involved in teaching coupled with teen years spent in acting and drama lessons has set me up beautifully to concoct crazy 1970's flash mob songs and dances, re-writing lyrics and highlighting the absurdity that this feature still exists.  I have joined team members and fabulously enthusiastic supporters from all walks of life to perform outside Sun HQ and on a west end stage to huge applause and fits of nervous laughter.

I have added to this the joy of finding in myself a writer that I never knew was there. I have written several pieces for Metro, including this one about the campaign not being against nudity or breasts but against the objectification (link - http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/22/no-more-page-3-its-not-about-the-nudity-4156908/ ). I  typed with raging fire in the belly this blog for Huff Post about the comments found below Page 3 pictures on The Star's website (link - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lisa-clarke/page-three-mostly-harmless-i-beg-to-differ_b_3034030.html ) and was utterly taken aback when within a few days of this being published the Star disabled the ability to comment below models pictures and deleted all the comments that were there. I believe it was at this point I realised how extra-ordinary people power could be. That a nurse from Nottingham, an inexperienced writer, could blog about these disgusting comments that reduce women to fodder to be owned, used and acted upon and that having been shared entirely through social networks of supporters this could actually bring about a real change.


The campaign's momentum could so easily have been exhausted by now but thanks to the numbers of supporters growing daily, the growth too of HQ to a team now numbering 20, filled with diversity and skill and the conviction from all of us that what we are doing is important, long overdue and right we have instead blossomed.


NMP3 is now a force to be reckoned with, it has the strong support of a huge number of groups, charities and organisations all of whom have their own reasons for wanting to see an end to page 3 (link - http://nomorepage3.org/orgsupport/ ) , it has the backing of over 150 cross party MPs (link - http://nomorepage3.org/letter-to-the-editor-signed-by-mps/ ) and an increasing number of celebrities. There is a sense of a mood change in society, that people are beginning to see the sea of sexual imagery, particularly of women, that we face in our daily lives. Our campaign has been riding a wave of feminist resurgence that dominates the newspapers on a weekly basis. Successful people power campaigns have ensured a woman will stay on bank notes, that female genital mutilation will be discussed and looked out for in UK schools. The Co-operative has been persuaded to stop selling lads mags which lack modesty covers, HMV have stopped putting sexualized soft porn images alongside boy band and Peppa Pig posters and pop stars are writing open letters to one another lamenting the overt sexualisation of female singers in the music industry.


Whilst still at times being perplexing and frustrating it is such an exciting time to be a woman in the UK. Page 3 may to this day remain in place but the number of days it is absent is increasing, rumours have been circulating of a redesign of the page , Ireland have dropped it already and an attempt this week to link page 3 with a breast cancer charity has faced a backlash of negative comments from other newspapers, bloggers, other breast cancer charities and survivors themselves.


Popular culture is questioning, the next generation are listening and campaigning themselves for the world they want to live in as adults to be different to the one they have been forced to grow up in.


No More Page 3 has inspired me, it has inspired young and old alike and has even allowed crowd sourcing of funds to financially sponsor 2 women's football teams including our own Nottingham Forest Ladies who now play with "No More page 3" on their chests promoting what women's bodies can do and not just what can be done to them.


I am honoured to be a tiny part of something really quite amazing that is happening so forgive me while I pinch myself again and, having recently spent my 40th birthday watching 3 plays in London inspired by the campaign, I wonder what new experiences the year ahead will bring, about how I will keep finding time to do my day job and if not about quite what I'm going to do with myself next.


I would like to share the secret here that I am nobody special, I am just a Nottingham lass with a bee in her bonnet. I want to tell you that you too can make a difference in whatever it is you feel passionate about, go for it, try, because you just don't know what you are capable of.


I have no idea what is coming next and I love that, I am open to all ideas though because it seems if I put my mind to it I can do just about anything, who knew.

We ask that Co-operative food do not advertise in publications which objectify and belittle women; that it stop all advertisements, marketing of or links to The Sun Newspaper whilst it has Page 3, and that in line with the Co-operative's approach on "lad's Mags" tabloid newspapers which contain inappropriate adult content be moved out of reach of children or not sold in store.
We propose that the Co-operative back the No More Page 3 campaign lobbying for an end to page 3.


We believe this proposal is in fitting with the Co-operatives ethos of fighting for the good of members and customers. it's aim to be the most socially responsible business in the UK, offering "members and customers not only value, but values."


The 6 co-operative values include -


Democracy  –   "giving members a say in the way we run our businesses" we the members ask the Co-operative to no longer endorse exploitation of women, sexism and degradation in a news publication with advertising revenue generated by us the members and customers.


Equality  –  no matter how much money a member invests in their share account, they still have one vote. We are exercising our vote to ask for equal representation in the media and ask that Co-op disassociate itself with publications which promote the opposite.


Equity –  we carry out our business in a way that is fair and unbiased. Page 3 is not fair, there is no male equivalent.




Co-op's ethical responsibilities include -
Social responsibility  –  we encourage people to take responsibility for their own community, and work together to improve it. We are taking responsibility in lobbying for a greater equality in UK media and better representation for women.


Caring for others  –  we ask Co-op to care for the young people of the UK who are affected by sexualised images they see in everyday life. NMP3 is backed by the British Youth Council, Girl Guides and Girls Brigade


Co-op's Principles include -
Education, training and information  –  co-operatives educate and develop their members as well as their staff but what are the young people of the UK educated to believe when the biggest single image of a woman in the UK's best selling paper is one of her standing in her pants for men's sexual gratification and what are they to make of the Co-operatives endorsement of putting its advertisements in the same publication?


Concern for community  –  co-operatives also work to improve and develop the community, both locally and internationally. We ask that it extend this to seeing it's responsibility in associating itself with the publication which offers women up as a sexual feature as part of the daily news.








Background information and evidence -


The No More Page3 Campaign has been gathering support from individuals and organisations over the last year and a half.
Supportive organisations include -
• Girlguiding UK (over 500,000 young members)
• Mumsnet (Mumsnet is the UK's largest website for parents, with 4.3 million monthly unique visitors)
• The British Youth Council (over 220 youth organisations)
• UK Youth (working with approx. 1 million young people, and 11,000 youth clubs
• Members of the Girls’ Brigade England and Wales (just under 20,000 members)
• The NUT, NASUWT, ATL, NAHT (combining over 780,000 teachers, lecturers and Head Teachers)
• Unison (our largest union, 1.3 million members)
• The National Assembly of Wales
• The Scottish Parliament
• The Royal College of Midwives
• The Royal College of Nursing
• 28 universities and 6 Oxford University Colleges have voted to stop selling The Sun until it drops the page 3 topless images
• Rape Crisis
• Woman’s Aid
• End Violence Against Women’s Coalition (full list available here - http://nomorepage3.org/orgsupport/)


There has been a palpable change in public mood over the mainstreaming of soft porn in public spaces and The Co-operative have been part of this movement in being the first major supermarket retailer, once again, to step up and make the ethical choice to stop sale of Lads Mags that refused to cover up their objectifying front pages.


Growing evidence is showing us that this passive, sexualised image, and its unrestricted placement, is problematic for both female and male readers of all ages and society as a whole.
Page 3:

• Derails equality and limits the aspirations and achievements of women and girls  
• Legitimises objectification of women as sexual beings and distorts body image
• Fuels a disrespectful perception and sense of entitlement towards women, underpinning sexual violence
• Undermines responsible parenting and makes a nonsense of child protection policies

Evidence to support these claims is available here - http://nomorepage3.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Research-doc-I-Effects-of-_Page-3_-type-images-on-men-1.doc
and here http://nomorepage3.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Research-doc-II-Effect-and-Impact-of-Page-3-on-Women-1.doc







We feel Co-op should remove Sun advertising until Page 3 goes because -
As a campaign we are not seeking legislation or a ban, we are lobbying the editorial team of The Sun for a voluntary removal of an image which is so harmful to so many women, and damaging to the idea of equality.
Part of that lobbying involves ethical companies recognising the damage being done to their brand by association with Page 3. We are looking to the co-op to take the lead once again on equality and equity.
At present our supporters tell us that many of them are Co-operative customers because of the organisation's ethics. They are disappointed that Co-op are choosing to associate themselves with the Sun and putting the potential profit of reaching sun readers before the potential damage caused by these sexist and degrading images in a news publication.


We propose tabloid newspapers which contain inappropriate adult content be moved out of reach of children or not sold in store because -


Whilst these images are available to children at child height it makes parents job in protecting their child from these images difficult if not impossible. The sale of the Sun and Star at child height effectively condones the promotion of soft porn where children can see it.


Workplace equality. The Equality Act 2010 states that conditions in the workplace should not be offensive to either men or women. Women now have the right to complain about demeaning images visible at work, but many still find this difficult because of the real or perceived risk of ridicule or anger. Co-operative employees and customers should not have to tolerate customers potentially picking up and opening these publications in store.