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THIS letter is in response to your depiction of Miss Simon's Town 2004 in your edition of 29 September.

There are serious problems with this type of representation of women 11 years after South Africa's transition to democracy. I would like to highlight a number of issues in this regard:

1. How does a young woman winning a beauty competition constitute relevant community news?

2. Why do women continue to be objectified in these narrow and traditional ways, where their bodies are used to keep men entertained and moreover, why does your newspaper continue to maintain the objectification of women by printing these stories as relevant?

3. Why, when gender equality as a political and social project is entrenched in our Constitution, are depictions of women winning beauty competitions being held up as an achievement for women? 4. What responsibility does your newspaper have in representing women in more positive ways?

These are merely some of the issues which I think your paper needs to consider prior to printing such irrelevant news. What is needed, in my opinion, is more positive success stories of women, particularly black (coloured, Indian and African) who do reside in your distribution area, instead of the maintenance and reproduction of gender stereotypes which marginalise and oppress women.

We know as a society that these very constructions of gender (women and men) promoted in your paper is problematic in the ways that violence against and harassment of women remains pervasive in South Africa.

Through your newspaper's role (and the media at large) in representing women in these damaging ways, women will continue to be valued as second-class citizens only, who do not have identities outside of their bodies.

If The People's Post aims to report relevant and fair news, an attempt has to be made to represent women as human beings. Awaiting your response.

Anonymous, Fish Hoek

? THE People's Post often profiles the achievements of local women. In fact, the edition referred to by the writer also featured the appointment of Sub Lieutenant Mareza Verusca Green as commander of a Naval vessel. Also recently, we wrote about how Tamara Thomas of Glencairn will soon be South Africa's second woman fighter pilot.

I am satisfied that The People's Post gives due attention to the achievements of women - where warranted, and certainly not out of forced, apologetic patronage.

The media both reflect and help form society, agreed. It is in reflecting society that we will carry news that we believe will be of interest to our readers, and this will include news from the fashion, beauty and entertainment industries. News of Chrystal Thomas's selection in the FHM competition spread like wildfire through Simon?s Town the weekend it was announced, indicating that an item in the paper would be received as newsworthy.

In both the cases of Deoné le Roux and Chrystal Thomas, we were given full-length bikini shots, but out of respect for our readers and the subjects themselves, we used photos holding a minimum potential of offence.

Annelien Dean, Editor

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