Letter: Topless tabloid

Sir: The Sun ought to know that it is not just women who find Page Three a deterrent to buying the paper ("Women with clout want Page Three out", 26 October).

Most of my male friends (mainly in their thirties and middle-class) would be embarrassed to be seen with a copy of The Sun.

This is not just because of the spectacular uneroticism of the pictures of women's torsos, but also because of the chauvinism and sheer outdatedness that Page Three implies.

Added to this is the obvious hypocrisy of a "family" paper which rails against improved sex education and the loss of innocence of the young, while portraying women as pieces of meat for children in the family home to see and be influenced by.

Clare Short's famous book about women's views of Page Three, Dear Clare, could equally have been filled with men's criticisms of the topless tabloid.

It is a testament to The Sun's clever written journalism and word-play headlines that it has such a large readership.

Dr EVAN HARRIS MP

Liberal Democrat Spokesman on Women's Affairs

House of Commons