French feminists demand ban on saucy postcards

FRENCH feminists have launched a campaign to ban “sexist” postcards of scantily clad women, which they say contribute to a “culture of rape”.

The Femmes Solidaires (Women’s Solidarity) group urged its 10,000 members to look out for postcards and report where they were being sold.

The cards depict women in skimpy bikinis, with captions such as “Big kisses from Roussillon”. One shows a cyclist from behind, wearing a thong.

The campaign has led to arguments on social media, with some defending the cards as “harmless and humorous”.

Julian, a designer, told Le Parisien newspaper that smutty postcards were “not very good taste, and frankly crude, but they are part of popular culture”.

However, the women’s group said that they “contribute to a culture of rape that imposes a degrading image of women and helps to legitimise and normalise violence against women”.

The campaign came days after the French parliament passed a law against sexual violence, giving police powers to impose on-the-spot fines on men who harass women in the street.