Gloria de Piero’s promotion to Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities has been overshadowed by her sizeable baggage. Gloria revealed in her blog this week that "a news agency claiming to be acting on behalf of a national newspaper have offered several thousand pounds to obtain topless pictures I posed for when I was a teenager”.
The media coverage has been widespread and, for the most part, very supportive of the new shadow cabinet minister. Many are confused as to why Gloria’s young exploits are even of interest. Again. The revelation of a 15 year old topless de Piero made little impact when the story first emerged in 2010. She was very honest about her past, stating that her decision to go topless was for money: "It was simply that I needed some money to buy clothes. When you are 15 or 16 and you want to fit in and wear nice things, but you don't have any and put on your school uniform even when you are allowed to be in your own clothes, nothing matters more.”
While I commend the British press for being okay with both breasts, and questionable teenage behaviour in an unprecedented move towards the 21st century, there is one thing that I don’t understand. And has barely been mentioned. What exactly would said national newspaper propose to do with half naked photos of a minor? Have we learnt nothing from Operation Yewtree? Are 15 year old girls still fair game for ogling? Is nearly legal still a grey area on the moral colour spectrum?
With fair-dodgers and expenses fraudsters and Boris in our midst, some 'politits' really wouldn’t seem that bad. Were they not belonging to a child.
Besides, Gloria didn’t actually need anyone to come to her aid. She summed it up perfectly when she said: "I don’t think anyone wants politics to be open only to those people who were planning their political careers in their teens. I would like to see a politics that represents our country, including many more women from all walks of life, and that is something I am passionately committed to help bring about.”
Becky Shepherd
