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". 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.
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) |
| Mayfair | Girl of the Month[18] |
| Men Only | Men Only Girl/Miss (abandoned name)[19] |
| Penthouse | Pet |
| Playboy | Playmate |
| Playgirl | Man of the Month/Year |
| Playmen | La Ragazza del Mese[20] |
Some online-only media outlets maintain a monthly designation reminiscent of a print magazine centerfold; for example, the Twistys Treat.[21]
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.[22]