Topless sunbathing

Press, 4 February 1987, Page 20

Topless sunbathing

Sir, —Would I be the only person amazed at Michael C. Peters’ ability (January 29) to twist a complaint over topless sunbathing into a diatribe against exposing children to television violence? It is the height of cheek for him to assume the complainant would so expose a child even supposing, in spite of a generation of “experts,” that any harm would be done. I submit that topless sunbathing is a part of a general deterioration of standards and lack of concern for the feelings of others of which television violence is also a part, and Michael C. Peters is as much to blame for it as anyone. — Yours, etc.,

ROBERT NORWOOD. January 30, 1987.

Sir, —Following V. H. Anderson (January 31), an invigorating day at the beach is as hazardous as cigarette smoking; if you are. nude, that is as disgusting as public “bodily elimination.” These views are wrong. We get vitamin D from the sun. From smoking we get heart disease: And nudity is not unhygienic. My assumptions concerning people’s attitudes to their children’s TV viewing are entirely warrantable — prudes and non-prudes notwithstanding. In a recent survey of fourth formers only two subjects out of 100 did not watch television. On average, those who viewed witnessed 5.68 acts of violence for 3.39 hours a night. If parents are concerned with violence on television then why are these figures so high? In view of the ratings and statistics it seems that many parents relax to a night of video violence and do not care much if their children do the same.—Yours, etc.,

MICHAEL C. PETERS. January 31, 1987.