Page Three

Page Three (or Page 3) is a feature found in some tabloid newspapers, especially in the United Kingdom, consisting of a large photograph of a topless female glamour model. The feature takes its name from the tradition of printing the photograph on the newspaper's third page. Women who model regularly for the feature are known as Page Three girls, some of whom, such as Samantha Fox and Katie Price (Jordan), have become notable celebrities in their own right in fields such as music and television.

The Sun tabloid newspaper first started featuring topless Page Three girls in November 1970. The feature was soon imitated by other British tabloids and by newspapers internationally. Although "Page Three" and "Page 3" are registered trademarks of NI Group Ltd, parent company of the Sun, the term is often used in a generic manner to describe any such feature in any paper.

Although Page Three is popular with some readers, it has also attracted sustained criticism, notably from feminists (who argue that Page Three objectifies and demeans women) and conservatives (who believe that Page Three photographs are softcore pornography and inappropriate for publication in a family-oriented newspaper). Former Member of Parliament Clare Short campaigned vigorously, albeit unsuccessfully, in the mid-1980s, and again in 2004, to have topless Page Three girls banned from newspapers. Editors themselves have sometimes voluntarily eliminated or altered the feature, as when the Daily Mirror stopped printing topless photographs in the 1980s. However, the Sun has retained its Page Three feature for over four decades, with only minor changes in style and presentation. Since 1999, the Sun's daily Page Three photographs have also appeared on the NI Group's official Page Three website.