British MP Gloria DePiero has written a post on her website asking news agencies and online opportunists to stop searching for topless photos of her taken when she was just 15. In an interview, DePiero admitted—quite bravely, in my opinion—that she’d been talked into posing nude as a teenager, so she understands how some young women might think of it as “a way out.” Naturally, because the world is a festering boil, some creep immediately put a bounty on the photos. The naked photos. Of a 15-year-old girl. Photos whose existence was revealed in a moment of vulnerability and compassion. Great work, earth.
Via the Guardian:
Writing on her website, De Piero said: “The offer was made to the owner of a building in Bradford. I understand that he was offered money for access to the building and a further payment if the pictures were found.
“I have talked about why I posed for these pictures in interviews before. I thought at the time it was a way of improving my circumstances. This is part of my story and part of who I am. I can’t change it now but this happened over 20 years ago.
“It is now time to call off the hunt for these pictures and let me get on with the job I was elected to do, representing the people of Ashfield and serving in the shadow cabinet.”
The 40-year-old MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire argued that people of diverse backgrounds should be able to go into politics without fear of being haunted by things they had done in their teens.
“I don’t think anyone wants politics to be open only to those people who were planning their political careers in their teens,” she said.
This is fucking gross, and though I doubt a heartfelt open letter will have much effect on the kind of people drawn to this kind of activity in the first place, I wish DePiero the best.
Also, idea for humanity: Maybe have some?
Join the discussion...