Outrage over Edinburgh's Page 3 models
Edinburgh University's student newspaper has sparked controversy over its decision to start printing Page 3 girls. The editor has defended the semi-naked pictures by saying that he simply wanted to start a debate about the female form.
The paper – which was once edited by Chancellor Gordon Brown – is Britain's largest financially independent student publication. It received a flood of complaints despite the page being accompanied by a page eleven of a guy in a thong to ensure there was no sexism.
The current editor said, "It was basically to spark up interest and perhaps a debate about the concept of Page 3 and was accompanied by an editorial.
"I think it was intended to get interest in the paper but we didn't necessarily expect the outrage, more an interesting debate about the validity of Page 3 or the validity of any sort of nudity in a paper."
He stands by the pictures, saying they were tastefully done.
The co-editor Sam Friedman said, "The desire here is not to offend anyone, but simply to highlight what a bizarre and ultimately ugly concept Page 3 actually is."
The newspaper, 'Student', was founded by Robert Louis Stevenson and its former editors include Lord Steel. It prints around 12,000 free copies each week.
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