It's Like Jury Duty
What if page three modeling was a government mandate?
"Today at one O'clock, the Queen has ratified the landmark bill known as the Topless Initiative to Teach and Transform Image Evaluation in Society" The female news reader said in a steady rhythm, a signature of the BBC News team.
"This new law known as, 'T.I.T.T.I.E.S.' will make all women in the U.K. eligible for a summons to appear as a topless model for the N.H.S publication 'Public Health.'"
"Here to discuss the potential effects of this unprecedented legislation, is Miss Anna Smith; noted feminist author and speaker, and Doctor Mary Jones; psychology consult for the government health ministry and a long time advocate for T.I.T.T.I.E.S.
Miss Smith, you have voiced your opposition to the bill in the name of feminism; however, multiple feminist organisations believe this will be a good thing for women and body image across the country, can you please explain your point of view?"
Watching this discussion from her living room in Lewisham, Sara Pascoe herself was struggling to believe what was happening. This had all begun with her in 2014, now, nearly eight years later, her silly joke had become national law. She felt uneasy, but knew she shouldn't complain, after all, it was her idea. Intently she listened to the two women debating on tv.
"Thank you Miss Smith, now Doctor Jones what is your response to that?"
"In the age of social media and ever growing abilities to digitally edit pictures, body dismorphia and lack of self esteem have been rising in the U.K every year especially among young women. One thing agreed upon by all psychologists is that exposure to realistic bodies that are more reflective of the wider population improve body image drastically. The algorithm is designed to randomly choose any woman of legal age; therefore, after just a few months, the population will have access to a large pool of regular people to recalibrate their expectations of themselves."
The back and forth on the television continued for several more minutes, but it is now time for us to move on. Do you want to start from the first woman selected, or do you wish to see where this law takes the country in a few years time? What does society look like after this law has become widely accepted by everyone? Is the algorithm fair or does a peculiar pattern seem to emerge?