Art Photography

Page 3

 

Page 3 is outdated and sexist.

There.  I said it.  Lots of people frequently suggest that it’s just a piece of harmless titillation.  I agree, it is harmless titillation, I don’t see any problem with glamour photography at all (in fact, I shoot glamour myself, it’s my favourite genre).

The problem is, that Page 3 is all a bit one sided.  It’s always one or two girls (white, size 8 and “healthy” looking), baring their boobs with some rubbish babble about how they like doing it in bed.  Where are the guys?  And if we can’t have guys on that page 50% of the time, how about we just get rid of it all together?

The thing is, those who say it’s harmless fun are mostly guys.  Think about this scenario gents:  You’re sitting on the train on the way to work, minding your own business.  A woman sits down next to you and opens her reading material, only to spend most of the journey studying a naked version of her perfection.  That’s right, she’s sitting next to you eyeing up fit naked blokes (sometimes two of them embracing if she’s really lucky and they’re running a special).  How would you feel?  Intimidated?  I bet you’d feel a bit intimidated if some chick was sitting next to you looking at pictures of naked blokes.

How do I know you’d feel like this?  Because someone said it to me a while back on the train.  I was sitting working on my iPad, minding my own business and replying to some emails from potential models.  I was selecting images and sending them over to them to provide inspiration.  No one sat next to me, until I was almost the last seat on the carriage.  Then one guy sat down nervously and after a few minutes said “Do you mind not looking at that kind of thing please?”.  The thing is, normally I would have been more embarrassed than him, I hate to think that I would make someone feel uncomfortable.  Until I noticed a copy of The Sun under his arm, which included all the usual Page 3 junk.  I decided to ignore his request.

So guys, before you continue to support Page 3 and everything it stands for, ask yourself this.  How would you feel if the newspapers in question ran shots of hot naked blokes on Page 2?  Would you mind if the girl (or guy) on the train next to you sat there for the duration of your journey gawping at some guys cock?