Rupert Murdoch has hinted he may bring in some 'fashionable clothes' to cover up his traditionally topless Page 3 girls in his Sun newspaper.
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In the face of a sustained campaign by British activists, the media baron has asked Twitter whether women look better with clothes on, instead of bare-breasted.
On Wednesday Murdoch tweeted "Brit feminists bang on forever about page 3. I bet never buy paper. I think old fashioned but readers seem to disagree."
"Aren't beautiful young women more attractive in at least some fashionable clothes? Your opinion please."
His question drew a quick response from the Twitter-led "No More Page 3" campaign, which has gathered more than 200,000 supporters and regularly posts complaints from people embarrassed by what they see as a sexist throwback to another age.
They also pressure advertisers in The Sun to boycott the paper over the issue, and push supermarkets and newsagents to hide the paper from children.
It is not the first time Murdoch has agonised over the issue – last year he responded to a tweet which said: "Seriously, we are all so over page 3 - it is so last century!"
Murdoch replied: "You maybe right, don't know but considering. Perhaps halfway house with glamorous fashionistas."
Brit feminists bang on forever about page 3. I bet never buy paper I think old fashioned but readers seem to disagree. — Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) September 10, 2014
Page 3 again. Aren't beautiful young women more attractive in at least some fashionable clothes? Your opinions please. — Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) September 10, 2014
@rupertmurdoch 'Why is it OK to show young women without their clothes in a national newspaper?' is a more relevant question. @nomorepage3 — StephanieDavies-Arai (@cwknews) September 10, 2014
@rupertmurdoch How about you stop asking for opinions, develop a moral conscience, and then summon the courage to act on it? — Karen (@SometimesKaren) September 10, 2014
@rupertmurdoch and beautiful young men? Why not report the news? It is a newspaper after all, leave the naked people to the porn industry. — Tony Young (@Tonyyoung35) September 10, 2014
In the No More Page 3 petition, an open letter to Sun editor David Dinsmore, the activists wrote that the naked breasts of young women were inappropriate for a widely read 'family' newspaper.
"Consider this a long overdue outcry. David, stop showing topless pictures of young women in Britain's most widely read newspaper, stop conditioning your readers to view women as sex objects."
However last year Dinsmore told the BBC he would keep the page 3 girls because it was what his readers wanted.
"I was flicking through a copy of this month's Vogue and there was a picture of Kate Moss topless," he said. "I suspect the editor of Vogue won't be questioned on whether topless pictures should be around on its pages."
