sadoldgit

You are talking purely about your own experience though. What about the young girls at school being derided as fat because they don't look like the latest skinny model or pop star? Do you get women slagging you off because you don't look like Pelle?

This is the thing though - there are many who see it as harmless but that doesn't mean we ignore those who see it differently.

I think it is very easy as a bloke to be dismissive of woman or people who complain about how many woman are portrayed in the media and say it is just a bit of harmless fun. I am sure if we were constantly derided for our body shapes, penis size, lack of performance in bed, looks, hair or lack of etc we would have a different view. Fortunately most men are just plain looking and there aren't many Brad Pitts or Jude Laws wandering around to make us feel inferior. There is a lot more pressure on women to look a certain way and to be sexually attractive to men - that is why people like Katie Price have made a fortune.

There is enormous pressure on people from peer groups to confirm to a certain look - that is why the advertising industry, the fashion industry etc rake in billions every year. We are all bombarded with images every day that are designed to make us part with our cash so we can look a certain way. Fortunately I am at a certain age now where I don't bother any more but I see it with the younger people, including my teenage children all the time. My youngest is anorexic. My middle daughter wont eat carbs. My eldest felt she looked fat in my wedding pictures alongside her two "stick thin" sisters even though she is size 8. It has been going on for years. My Mum was bulimic back in the 40s and 50s - but it is even worse nowdays because of the growth of the media.

I agree it is about power. And unfortunately there are many in society who look at picture of half naked or naked women and think they are entitled to touch as well as look. There is a lot of subliminal stuff going on here - not to everyone I grant you but look at the way many in Spain and Greece etc see Brits abroad. They see English women as easy because they get drunk and behave badly (not all I grant you but a lot). Many come to this country from more repressed counties and see young women showing their breasts in a national newspaper and what message does that send to them? In some counties all you can see are a woman's eyes and here a great deal more. It sends the message that women are sexually available for all when in fact they are only available for the people they chose to be with. Lighthouse - trust me, women are horrifically sexually abused here as well - and that is with freely available porn.

It is not but the numbers are troubling.

I don't think that is the issue Jeff.

I worked for the Times, Guardian, Telegraph and Spectator, albeit before the digital age. The Guardian used to make a fortune out of ads in those days - equal to the cover price revenue. Re readership - you do know that anyone who has seen a front page (or any part) of a newspaper is said to have "read" it? Probably why they kept Page 3 going for so long!

It does sell itself as a family newspaper and does look to engage women readers too. Page 3 alone is not to blame for poor self image but it certainly hasn't helped.

The number of rapes recorded by the police in England and Wales has risen by 31% in the past year to 24,043 – the highest level since for at least 10 years, according to the Office of National Statistics. The official statisticians say the increase in rapes and a 22% rise in all sexual offences reflects a greater willingness among victims to come forward to report attacks and better recording by the police. Saw the above just now on a news page. I am not attributing this to Page 3 by the way but many women will argue that the way that women are portrayed in the media does not help certain men's attitude towards them and their sexual availability.

I read "broadsheet" papers and I also like to look at naked women. Don't expect to see them paraded in a family newspaper every day though. There is also a huge difference between a topless woman and a topless man (assuming you are talking about that top half being uncovered). Why do men like looking at boobs? It causes sexual arousal does it not? If you were a woman sitting on a train next to a guy ogling Page 3 would you feel that was harmless? It I easy as a bloke to say it is no big deal but listen to the other side of the argument and you will that many people have a very different view.

Readership is not important in terms of numbers. For advertising purposes it is the type of reader you attract that matters. Broadsheets (when there were such things) could make a lot more by selling full page colour ads with a lower readership because they were selling to the right type of reader. In fact selling less was seen as a good thing as it meant you had the right audience. Selling to the lowest common denominator is not difficult as the Sun found - just shove a fit topless bird on Page 3. Job done.

If boobs were no big deal the Sun wouldn't have had a page 3 for all these years. To say there is no difference between a topless man and a topless woman is nonsense. The problem with the Sun is that it has been stuck in the 70s "Carry On" attitude towards sex since, well, the 70s. Things have moved on but you wouldn't know it if all you did was read the Sun. The idea that women are there for the gratification of men, that women should have a certain look and body shape is still being peddled by the family newspaper. As someone said earlier, sex sells and that is why Murdoch gives so much space to boobs. The cosmetic surgery has done well out of it too. I know several women who have had boob jobs because they are not as pert as the models they see in the papers. This is especially sad as many young women are having surgery now before they have had kids. The people who right the Sun live in a world where people "romp" with and "bed" others. It is still all a bit phwoar and childish and also very old fashioned. The world might be going to hell in a handcart but don't worry guys, here is a nice pair of baps to cheer your day up. It is easy for a man to say it is harmless. What about the harm it does to those who are compared with the "ideal" body imagine that most woman don't actually have? Many woman have eating disorders because they worry about their body shapes. Many spend a fortune on "corrective" surgery yet it is harmless? I especially loved the Page 3 model who said what about her right to sell her baps to the press. You can still do it in Men's mags dear or sell your tush on the street if you want. Boobs are not the problem here. The problem has always been giving specific types of women (young and fit) space in a purported "family" newspaper every day to cheer up White Van Man.

Not sure who the guy who commissioned the gun was, but the family running the shop were the Wyatts. Paige Wyatt, the daughter was very fit! http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608033761703103092&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0

I know he wasn't in England, but it was just as well Oscar Pistorious had a gun to protect himself from an unarmed woman sitting on the loo.

So what if we didn't go up as champions. McMenemy didn't take us up as champions and he doesn't get stick for it. The job was to get us promoted and anyone who gets back to back promotions deserves credit. Decent bloke who was badly treated. Hope he gets a decent job soon. He deserves it.

If its a kosher fish finger sandwich it has to be tartare.

Or hurt anyone else...

Don't try this at home kids!

This. Nothing like the "bad boy" that our Osvaldo is apparently.

Yes it was American Guns. If there is ever a Zombie apocalypse I want that guy as my neighbour!

Yes you are but he does have a lot of potential and is having a really good season so far.

This is exactly the problem though. Guns in themselves are not the issue. The issue is people - or some people. No guns in the house, nobody gets shot. I watched a programme yesterday about guns in America. I featured a shop called Gunsmoke where they specialise is bespoke weaponry. A guy wanted a "Zombie Gun" specially made so they made him the cut down bespoke shotgun for shooting up Zombies. Yes, this is in America. At one point the team were getting a bit fractious with each other so it was suggested that they go out with their favourite zombie killing guns and shoot up some zombies. No zombies unfortunately just a target full of peanut butter to look like zombie brains when it was hit. They took great relish in shooting the brains out. Part of the programme showed the owner of the shop out shopping for a rocket launcher. They guy selling him one took him out to try it and arrived in a jeep bristling with guns, which the guy also bought. They had great fun in shooting up a car on a rubbish site. Finally when the gun was ready they went to try it out on proper zombies - well, dummy zombies at least - and had a wonderful time blowing them away. They were better armed than the standard British army squaddie. Quite chilling to watch.

http://www.soccersouls.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cstill.jpg Wonder if she would like a job with us?

All hope? My hope was that we wouldn't be coming back.