Centerfold
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The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait.[1] In saddle-stitched magazines (as opposed to those that are perfect-bound), the centerfold does not have any blank space cutting through the image.
The term was coined by Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine.[2] The success of the 1953 first issue of Playboy has been attributed in large part to its centerfold: a nude of Marilyn Monroe.[3] The advent of monthly centerfolds gave the pin-up a new respectability and helped to sanitize the notion of "sexiness".[4] Being featured as a centerfold could lead to film roles for models, and still occasionally does today.[4]
Early on, Hefner required Playboy centerfolds to be portrayed precisely, telling photographers in a 1956 memo that the "model must be in a natural setting engaged in some activity 'like reading, writing, mixing a drink'...[and]... should have a 'healthy, intelligent, American look—a young lady that looks like she might be a very efficient secretary or an undergrad at Vassar.'"[5] Hefner later said that the ideal centerfold is one in which "a situation is suggested, the presence of someone not in the picture"; the goal was to transform "a straight pinup into an intimate interlude, something personal and special."[5]
Some magazines later adopted the practice of having a centerfold with three or even four-folds, using a longer sheet of paper at that spot and folding the extra length into the magazine. Racier adult magazines used this space to showcase more explicit imagery: "In order to represent breasts, genitals, anus, and face all within the tri-fold frame of the centerfold, models were propped up, legs spread, raised, and then jack-knifed against their bodies, arms plunged between them to spread the labia."[6]
Though the term has become linked in the public consciousness with erotic material or models, many other magazines such as Life, Time and National Geographic have published fold-out spreads on other subjects.
Titles
[edit]Some magazines will refer to their centerfold models with a specific name, which may be connected to the magazine's brand or theme.
When obtained from one of the more prestigious publications in the field, it can become a semi-formal personal title used in news articles and introductions long after the model's centerfold appearance.[7][8]
Publication | Centerfold |
---|---|
Blueboy | Man of the Month/Year[9] |
Cheri | Tart of the Month/Supertart[10] |
Duke | Duchess[11] |
Gallery | Girl Next Door[12] |
Genesis | Playgirls (double centerfold, discontinued)[13] |
High Society | Society's Child (abandoned name)[14] |
Hustler | Honey[15] |
Knave | Maid of the Month[16] |
Lui | La Fille du Mois[17] |
Mandate | The Mandate Man (abandoned name)[18] |
Mayfair | Girl of the Month[19] |
Men Only | Men Only Girl/Miss (abandoned name)[20] |
Penthouse | Pet |
Playboy | Playmate |
Playgirl | Man of the Month/Year |
Playmen | La Ragazza del Mese[21] |
Some online-only media outlets maintain a monthly designation reminiscent of a print magazine centerfold; for example, the Twistys Treat.[22]
Center spread
[edit]As a layout device, a centerfold is closely related to a center spread, a pictorial spanning the two center pages of a magazine or other publication, taking advantage of the fact that these are printed on a single sheet of paper.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ "Centerfold". Merriam-Webster.
- ^ "Hugh Hefner Profile". People in the News. CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
- ^ "The Playboy FAQ: The First Issue". World of Playboy. Playboy. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.
- ^ a b Slade, Joseph W. (2001). Pornography and sexual representation: a reference guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 581. ISBN 0-313-31520-5.
- ^ a b "Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story". n+1. January 13, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
- ^ Kelly Dennis, Art/porn: a history of seeing and touching, Page 97, 2009, ISBN 1847880673
- ^ Jordan, Candace (April 10, 2015). "Playboy's Hugh Hefner turns 89: A Grateful Playmate Reminisces". chicagonow.com. Chicago Tribune Media Group. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Cheung, Kevin (October 6, 2000). "Fresh Digital". The Age. Melbourne, Australia: Fairfax Media. p. 95.
Based on the comic book series by Ninja Turtles creators Laird and Eastman (and starring Penthouse Pet Julie Strain), Heavy Metal FAKK 2 is an adventure that offers enough high-tech violence and brazen sexual innuendo to put Lara Croft to shame.
- ^ "Vote For The Best Man". Blueboy. Miami, FL. January–February 1979.
Each man has appeared in a centerfold spread during the past year, and now it's Readers' Choice as to which one will be the Blueboy Man Of The Year and win $5000!
- ^ "Solid Gold Supertart Diane Bentley". Cheri. New York, NY. January 1984.
- ^ Davis, Elroy (June 1957). "Duchess Of The Month". Duke. Vol. 1, no. 1. Duke Publishing Co. p. 33.
- ^ "Girl Next Door of the Month". Gallery. Vol. 30, no. 8. Montcalm Publishing Corporation. August 2002. p. 30.
- ^ "The Playgirls". Genesis. Vol. 3, no. 11. Genesis Publications. June 1976. p. 49.
- ^ "Society's Child Sandy". High Society. New York, NY: Drake Publishers. December 1983. p. 40.
- ^ Ward, Robert (2012). Renegades: My Wild Trip from Professor to New Journalist with Outrageous Visits from Clint Eastwood, Reggie Jackson, Larry Flynt, and other American Icons. F+W Media. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4405-3314-3.
- ^ "Brigitte Lahaie Maid of the Month". Knave. Vol. 11, no. 5. London: Knave Publications, Inc. Ltd. May 1979.
- ^ "La Fille du Mois". luimagazine.fr. Lui Web SARL. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Mandate Calendar 1981, Mavety Media, 1980,
A Mandate Man for every month
- ^ "Jamie-Lee Girl of the Month". Mayfair. Vol. 28, no. 4. London: Paul Raymond Publications. April 1993. p. 50.
- ^ "Men Only Girl: Miss Arabella Hart". Men Only. Vol. 40, no. 1. London: Paul Raymond Publications. 1975.
- ^ "Françoise La Ragazza del Mese". Playmen. Rome, Italy: Tattilo Editrice S.p.A. August 1969.
- ^ "Treat of the Month". twistysvixens.com. LemmeCheck Adult Network. August 1, 2005. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Center spread". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam Webster. Retrieved January 18, 2024.