objectupdate

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It’s more than ‘Page 3’ of the Sun

The Sun has ended ‘page 3’ but there is still chronic misrepresentation of women and girls in the print media and the ‘page 3’ tabloids continue to  normalise and mainstream the sex and porn industries.

‘They’re sexist and they know it’ is published today.  Written and researched by media sexism campaign OBJECT, it assesses whether there has been any improvement in the way the ‘page 3’ redtops represent women since the  Leveson Inquiry and the formation of the new press regulator, IPSO.

The report ‘They are Sexist and They Know It’  focuses on the Sun, the Daily Sport and the Daily Star.

The report highlights that sexual objectification of women goes beyond the topless ‘Page 3’ of the Sun’s print edition, it finds extreme examples of reports of sexual objectification.  For example:

A case of two women, from Nigeria, being trafficked into the UK and forced into prostitution was covered by ‘The Sport’, but the focus, as the headline shows was on rituals and black magic the women allegedly practiced, “VOODOO Sex Ring made me eat COCK” (The Sport, October 8, 2014). article was further juxtaposed next to porn ads such as an image of a naked woman bound and gagged.

The Sport covered a report on Jimmy Savile’s abuse of young women and girls next to upskirt pictures and porn ads. The porn ads featured were entitled “Tight teens”,

In  ‘The Daily Star’, a  story about Gary Glitter’s  historical abuses against girls was placed next to a story of Prince Harry’s girlfriend’s sex life “romps”

The Sun covered the story of Lee Travis being charged with sexually assaulting a woman by groping her with the headline “Hairy Cornflake Faces Porridge”.

Further, it highlights that:

Women are not only reduced to their body parts but often violence against women is trivialised or glamorised to the extent that stories of sexual violence are juxtaposed with topless images and/or porn and escort ads and crimes committed  against women are reported in a titillating manner.

Derogatory and hateful language against women is widespread and that women’s lack of consent is often presented as entertainment rather than as sexual harassment or worse.

Sexualisation of children is common, as well as racist, ageist representations of women.

The report finds that women’s sexuality, including lesbian sexuality, is often reduced to just a performance for men.

Finally, the report finds that actual news of women is absent; women’s contribution to society is often not recognised.

 Beti  Baraki, Object Campaigns Officer, said:

“The ending of the Sun’s Page 3, in the printed edition, was a great victory after years of campaigning and helps draw attention to the broader issue of media sexism on our press.  However, the ritual and persistent sexual objectification of women in the press is a serious problem and a common theme . In fact we see that apart from reduction of women to the sum of their body parts, the presence of adverts for porn and the sex industries with hateful and derogatory language for women is widespread. This often particularly extreme in the racist portrayal of black and minority ethnic women. Crimes committed against women such as trafficking, rape and murder are trivialised or eroticised and actual news of women is largely absent in thesetabloids.

Reducing women to sex objects or body parts rather than whole person normalises the treatment of women as objects, and underpins discrimination and violence against women and girls. Women have had enough of limiting stereotypes, which harm us all, constantly peddled by national newspapers.

The press has a responsibility to be a non-discriminatory and ethical- the press should be governed by some basic ethical standards and practicing a fair representation of women and girls in the media is one standard that needs to be met- yet it seems that the press are failing half the population at every turn.

This is a form of gross discrimination and runs contrary to the public interest. There needs to be a national enquiry to address the chronic misrepresentation of women in our print media. OBJECT supports a free press, which is why we are advocating for a common-sense and consistent approach to bring regulation of print based media in line with other forms of media regulation that balances equality legislation with free speech principles”.

ENDS

For more information or press requests, please contact OBJECT on 07538 221874 or beti@object.org.uk

 Notes to editors

1) OBJECT is an award-winning organisation that campaigns to end the sexual objectification of women in the media and popular culture, the mainstreaming of the sex industries and all forms of commercial sexual exploitation by combining high- end lobbying and grassroots activism. 

2) Just the Women 2012, alongside sister organisations EVAW, EAVES, Equality Now here http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/resources/51/just-the-women 3) They’re sexist and They Know it

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18 Women Share The First Time They Were Harassed

For many women the first time they were harassed is an experience that stays with them forever. A new hashtag is highlighting these stories.

See more #FirstHarassed tweets here.

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IF YOU THINK WHAT IS BEING ‘SOLD’ IN THOSE  VIVASTREET BUS SHELTER AND TAXI ADS IS AMBIGUOUS

The tweets and blog posts behind Vivastreet’s “A little bit of...” promotion

The adverts show three women....”A little bit of Bella...A little bit of Layla...A little bit of Nicola... Get your own little bit at vivastreet.co.uk”

As the ads appeared on taxis in Salford and bus shelters in Birmingham, the company behind them tweeted:

13 May 2015

“Are you hooked on #escorts?” with a picture of a woman’s bottom and link to a blog post Hooked on Punting.

The blog post is about the blogger’s ‘first punt’   

“My first punt. The money I would have spent on drinks, dinner and a movie just ended up paying for the sex directly. And honestly, it ended up MUCH better. The hour I booked was much more fun that a real date. I got my balls drained to the point they ached with a super hot woman who when the whole time focussed on what *I* wanted. Fucking great. “

19 May 2015

 “..if the rumour behind twitter banning porn is true, there will be nothing for me to read!” 

22 May 2015

“Tell an #escort friend about VS.....” 

It’s great news that Salford Council are taking action on these adverts and the company that manages transport in the West Midlands is now looking into the issue.  But the big question is who approved these in the first place? 

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PRESS RELEASE : 

A LITTLE BIT OF 'ESCORT' ADS CONDEMNED BY MEDIA SEXISM CAMPAIGN GROUP Object, a human rights group that campaigns against sexual objectification and media sexism, has today complained formally to the Advertising Standards Authority about adverts for an website that targets the 'escort' industry appearing on bus shelters and taxis.  Object is also contacting members of parliament and local authorities in the areas where the ads have been spotted to garner their support. The adverts show three young women with the slogan "a little bit of..." listing female names, in an apparent parody of Damaso Perez Prado/ Lou Bega's Mambo Number 5. Object's Chief Executive Officer, Roz Hardie, said: "We believe these are a breach of the Advertisers' Code on the portrayal of women.  We are also concerned that the Bailey Review recommendations on the sexualisation of children are also being breached by the adverts and it is unacceptable for a public display of adverts which essentially are condoning the sale of women. Object has been contacted by many people over the past 24 hours and believe that many similar complaints are being raised. The twitter feed of the company is clear which market they are targeting, encouraging escort services to sign up, containing links to their blog about being 'hooked on punting' and complaining about Twitter's reported plans to restrict pornography on its feeds." Object supports the 'Nordic Model' of addressing prostitution, which includes the decriminalisation of any individual selling sex but that it should be unlawful to buy sex or profit from the sale of somebody else and also argues there should be significant investment in services for women who wish to exit prostitution. For further information contact campaigns@object.org.uk  /Ends Notes to editors Committee of Adversting Practice Guidance note on "Offence: Sex" http://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Offence-Sex.aspx#.VWLviNJViko Bailey Review on the Sexualisation of Children https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letting-children-be-children-report-of-an-independent-review-of-the-commercialisation-and-sexualisation-of-childhood Object is part of the End Demand Campaign to end demand for sex trafficking and exploitation through prostitution  http://enddemand.uk/about/end-demand/

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I just supported #WeBelieveYou on @ThunderclapIt // @rapecrisistn

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“My clubs are gentleman’s clubs with nude hospitality.”  Object is campaigning for improved regulation of Sex Entertainment Venues.

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Over half of people agree: “Watching porn has a negative effect on people’d personal relationships.

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#eachbodysready

We are ready! Everyone is ready for the beach :)

Upload your own #eachbodysready photos to https://www.facebook.com/Eachbodysready

Contact eachbodysready@gmail.com

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THE ILLUSIONISTS – Opening – First 4 Minutes from Illusionists Documentary on Vimeo.

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Object was founded in 2003 when Sasha Rakoff saw a child in a hospital looking at Page 3 of the Sun. This film, made in 2014, looks at some of our achievements since then.

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64% of people agree “Porn makes violence against women seem normal.”

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Q: As a young woman in the UK, what change would you like to see post election?

A: More black female representation in the media

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Q: As a young woman in the UK, what change would you like to see post-election?

A: Compulsory media literacy in schools so that people learn to analyse the messages that they are getting

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70%+ BACK ‘FILM’ STYLE CLASSIFICATION FOR PRINT AND ONLINE MEDIA

By Beti Baraki

 More than 70% of the British public back regulation of sexual material in newspapers, magazines, music videos and websites, campaign group Object reveals.

 In polling commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Limited, IPSOS/Mori asked 1,942 people to indicate if British Board of Film Classification age restrictions should be applied to other media.  At Object be believe the strong support they found for such regulation is part of growing public hostility towards the objectification of women.  

 Nearly 2 in 3 of those surveyed believe porn normalises violence against women, and more than half agreed that watching it has a negative effect on personal relationships.  

“The public are clear that they want to see better regulation of sexually explicit images in mainstream media.

 “Routine sexual objectification of women does great emotional harm, perpetuating low body confidence in women of all ages and especially in girls growing up.  

 “The tendency of pornography to normalise violence and undermine the quality of relationships has a brutalising and corrosive effect on society as a whole.  

 “The British Board of Film Classification model would shine a spotlight on sexually explicit publications, encouraging more editors and proprietors to dump Page 3 and its ilk across all media platforms once and for all.”