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Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red top tabloids. First introduced in November 1969 by The Sun, the feature boosted the paper's readership and prompted competing tabloids—including The Daily Mirror, The Sunday People, and The Daily Star—to begin featuring topless models on their own third pages. Well-known Page 3 models included Linda Lusardi, Samantha Fox, Katie Price, and Keeley Hazell.

Although supporters of Page 3 defended it as a harmless British cultural tradition, the feature generated controversy throughout its history. It attracted criticism both from conservatives, who tended to view it as softcore pornography inappropriate for inclusion in national newspapers, and feminists, who argued that Page 3 objectified women's bodies, negatively affected girls' and women's body image, and perpetuated sexism. Labour Party MP Clare Short first began campaigning in the mid-1980s to have Page 3 images banned from newspapers; her efforts were subsequently supported by other MPs, including Harriet Harman, Stella Creasy, Lynne Featherstone, and Caroline Lucas. Some politicians, including Nick Clegg and Ed Vaizey, expressed concern that banning the feature would compromise press freedom. The British government never enacted legislation against Page 3.

In 2012, activist Lucy-Anne Holmes launched the No More Page 3 campaign with the goal of persuading newspaper editors and owners to voluntarily end the feature. The campaign collected over 240,000 signatures on an online petition and gained support from over 140 MPs, as well as trade unions, universities, and women's groups. In February 2013, Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun, suggested that Page 3 could become a "halfway house", featuring glamour photographs without showing nudity. In August of that year, The Sun replaced topless Page 3 girls with clothed glamour models in its Republic of Ireland edition. In January 2015, its UK editions also moved to a clothed glamour format, after printing topless Page 3 images for over 45 years. In April 2019, The Daily Star became the last print daily to cease printing topless images, ending the convention in Britain's mainstream tabloid press. As of 2026, the only British tabloid still publishing topless models is the niche Sunday Sport.

History

[edit]

After Rupert Murdoch relaunched the loss-making Sun newspaper in tabloid format on 17 November 1969, editor Larry Lamb began to publish photographs of clothed glamour models on its third page to compete with The Sun's principal rival, The Daily Mirror, which was printing photos of models wearing lingerie or bikinis.[1] The Sun's first tabloid edition showed that month's Penthouse Pet, Ulla Lindstrom, wearing a suggestively unbuttoned shirt. Page 3 photographs over the following year were often provocative, but did not feature nudity until The Sun celebrated the first anniversary of its relaunch on 17 November 1970 by printing model Stephanie Khan in her "birthday suit" (i.e. in the nude).[2] Sitting in a field, with one of her breasts fully visible from the side, Khan was photographed by Beverley Goodway, who became The Sun's principal Page 3 photographer until he retired in 2003.[3][4] Alison Webster took over Goodway's role in 2005 and remained until the feature was phased out.

Glamour model Lucy Collett began posing for the feature in 2011 after winning The Sun's Page 3 Idol competition.

Page 3 was not a daily feature at the beginning of the 1970s,[5] and The Sun only gradually began to feature Page 3 models in more overtly topless poses. Believing that Page 3 should feature "nice girls", Lamb sought to avoid the image of top-shelf pornography titles by asking The Sun's female reporters to review Page 3 images to ensure women would not regard them as "dirty".[6][7] Regardless, the feature, and the paper's other sexual content, led to some public libraries banning The Sun. A then Conservative-controlled council in Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire, took the first such decision, but reversed it after a series of local stunts organised by the newspaper and a change in the council's political orientation in 1971.[8][9]

Page 3 is partly credited with boosting The Sun's circulation.[10] In the year after it introduced Page 3, its daily sales doubled to over 2.5 million,[6] and it became the UK's bestselling newspaper by 1978.[11] Competing tabloids, including The Daily Mirror, The Sunday People, and The Daily Star, also began publishing topless models to increase their own sales, although The Daily Mirror and The Sunday People discontinued the practice in the 1980s, calling the photographs demeaning to women. In 1986, David Sullivan launched The Sunday Sport, which featured numerous images of topless models throughout each edition.[12] In 1988, The Sun launched the companion feature "Page 7 Fella", which featured images of barechested male models. It did not gain popularity and was dropped in the 1990s.[13]

Page 3 launched the careers of many well-known 1980s British glamour models, including Debee Ashby, Donna Ewin, Samantha Fox, Kirsten Imrie, Kathy Lloyd, Gail McKenna, Suzanne Mizzi, and Maria Whittaker, some of whom were aged 16 or 17 when they started modeling for the feature. Some Page 3 girls became well-known celebrities and went on to careers in entertainment. Fox, who began appearing on Page 3 as a 16-year-old in 1983, became one of the most-photographed British women of the 1980s, behind only Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. After leaving Page 3, she launched a successful singing career.[14]

In the mid-1990s, The Sun began printing Page 3 photographs in colour as standard, rather than mostly in black and white. Captions to Page 3 images, which had previously contained sexually suggestive double entendre, were replaced by a listing of models' first names, ages, and hometowns. It later added a "News in Briefs" item that gave the model's thoughts on current affairs.[15] After polling readers, in 1997 The Sun ceased featuring models who had undergone breast augmentation, such as Katie Price and Melinda Messenger.[16] In June 1999, it launched the official Page3.com website, which featured additional photos of current Page 3 models, archival images of former Page 3 models, and other related photo and video content.

Beginning in 2002, The Sun ran an annual contest called Page 3 Idol. Amateur models could submit photographs to be voted on by readers, with the winner receiving a cash prize and a Page 3 modeling contract. Notable Page 3 Idol winners included Nicola T, Keeley Hazell, and Lucy Collett.

In May 2004, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into effect in England and Wales, Section 45 of which raised the minimum age to appear in such publications from 16 to 18.[13][17][18]

In 2020, Channel 4 produced an hour-long documentary, Page Three: The Naked Truth, to mark 50 years since The Sun first introduced Page 3.[19]

Opposition

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Labour Party MP Clare Short (photographed in 2011) began campaigning against Page 3 in the 1980s.

Page 3 was controversial and divisive throughout its history. Its defenders often characterised it as an inoffensive British cultural tradition, as when Conservative Party MP Richard Drax in 2013 called it a "national institution" that provided "light and harmless entertainment".[20][21] Its critics generally considered Page 3 images demeaning to women or as softcore pornography that should not be published in national newspapers readily available to children. Some politicians—notably Labour Party MPs Clare Short, Harriet Harman, and Stella Creasy, Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone, and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas—made efforts to have Page 3 removed from newspapers. Meanwhile, The Sun vigorously defended the feature, typically representing Page 3's critics as prudes, spoilsports, or ideologues, while sometimes depicting female critics as physically unattractive and jealous. When Clare Short in 1986 tried to introduce a House of Commons bill banning topless models from British newspapers, The Sun ran a "Stop Crazy Clare" campaign, distributing free car stickers, calling Short a "killjoy", printing unflattering images of her, and polling readers on whether they would prefer to see Short's face or the back of a bus.[22]

As a co-founder of Women in Journalism, Rebekah Brooks was reported to be personally offended by Page 3,[23] and was widely expected to terminate it when she became The Sun's first female editor in 2003. However, upon assuming her editorship, Brooks defended the feature, calling its models "intelligent, vibrant young women who appear in The Sun out of choice and because they enjoy the job."[24][25][4] When Clare Short stated in a 2004 interview that she wanted to "take the pornography out of our press", saying "I'd love to ban [Page 3 because it] degrades women and our country",[26] Brooks targeted Short with a "Hands Off Page 3" campaign that included printing an image of Short's face superimposed on a topless woman's body, calling Short "fat and jealous", and parking a double-decker bus with a delegation of Page 3 models outside Short's home.[27] The Sun also called Harman a "feminist fanatic" and Featherstone a "battleaxe" for their opposition to Page 3.[28] Brooks later said that she regretted The Sun's "cruel and harsh" attacks on Short, listing them among the mistakes she had made as editor.[29]

In February 2012, the Leveson Inquiry heard arguments for and against Page 3. Women's advocacy groups argued that Page 3 demeaned women and promoted sexist attitudes, but The Sun's then-editor Dominic Mohan called the feature an "innocuous British institution" that had become "part of British society".[30] In his report, Lord Justice Leveson called Page 3 "a taste and decency issue" and stated that it thus fell outside his remit of investigating media ethics.[31] Clare Short questioned Leveson's finding, stating: "Surely the depiction of half the population in a way that is now illegal on workplace walls and before the watershed in broadcasting, is an issue of media ethics?"[32]

Lucy-Anne Holmes, a writer and actress from Brighton, began campaigning against Page 3 after noticing during the 2012 Summer Olympics that the largest photograph of a woman in the nation's best-selling newspaper was not of an Olympic athlete but of "a young woman in her knickers".[33][34] Arguing that Page 3 perpetuated sexism, portrayed women as sex objects, negatively affected girls' and women's body image, and contributed to a culture of sexual violence, Holmes launched the No More Page 3 campaign in August of that year.[35] The campaign collected over 240,000 signatures on an online petition and gained support from over 140 MPs, as well as a number of trade unions, universities, charities, and women's advocacy groups. It sponsored two women's soccer teams, Nottingham Forest Women F.C. and Cheltenham Town L.F.C., who played with the "No More Page 3" logo on their shirts.[36]

Lynne Featherstone called for a ban on Page 3 in September 2012, claiming that it contributed to domestic violence against women.[37] Then–deputy prime minister Nick Clegg expressed concern that banning the images would compromise freedom of the press, stating: "If you don't like it, don't buy it ... you don't want to have a moral policeman or woman in Whitehall telling people what they can and cannot see."[38] In June 2013, Caroline Lucas defied parliamentary dress code by wearing a "No More Page Three" T-shirt during a House of Commons debate on media sexism. She stated: "If Page 3 still hasn't been removed from The Sun by the end of [2013], I think we should be asking the government to step in and legislate." Culture minister Ed Vaizey responded that the government did not plan to regulate the content of the press, saying that adults had the right to choose what they read.[39] Then–prime minister David Cameron also declined to support a ban on Page 3, stating during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour: "This is an area where we should leave it to consumers to decide, rather than to regulators."[40] After becoming The Sun's editor in June 2013, David Dinsmore confirmed he would continue printing photographs of topless models, calling it "a good way of selling newspapers".[41]

End of the feature

[edit]
Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun, suggested in 2013 that Page 3 could transition to a "halfway house", featuring glamour models without showing nudity.

In February 2013, Rupert Murdoch suggested on Twitter that The Sun could transition to a "halfway house", featuring glamour photographs without showing nudity.[42] In August 2013, editor Paul Clarkson replaced topless Page 3 girls with clothed glamour models in The Sun's Republic of Ireland edition, citing cultural differences between the UK and Ireland.[43][44] The No More Page 3 campaign thanked Clarkson for "taking the lead in the dismantling of a sexist institution" and asked David Dinsmore to follow suit with The Sun's UK editions.[45]

After publishing Page 3 for over 44 years, on 17 January 2015 The Sun began featuring images of women wearing lingerie and bikinis on its third page. On 20 January, The Times, another Murdoch title, reported that the tabloid was "quietly dropping one of the most controversial traditions of British journalism."[16][46][47] The decision to discontinue Page 3 received significant media attention. On 22 January, The Sun appeared to change course, publishing a Page 3 image of a winking model with her breasts fully exposed and a caption mocking those who had commented on the end of the feature.[48] However, The Sun did not feature Page 3 thereafter.

Longtime campaigner Clare Short called the decision to terminate the feature "an important public victory for dignity",[49] while Nicky Morgan, then Minister for Women and Equalities, called it "a small but significant step towards improving the media portrayal of women and girls".[50] A spokeswoman for the No More Page 3 campaign called it "truly historic news" and "a huge step for challenging media sexism".[51] Caroline Lucas criticized the transition to clothed glamour, saying: "So long as The Sun reserves its right to print the odd topless shot, and reserves its infamous page for girls clad in bikinis, the conversation isn't over."[52]

Some former Page 3 models defended the feature and the women who had appeared in it. Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain, model Nicola McLean called Page 3 models "strong-minded women" who "certainly don't feel like we have been victimised".[53] In a televised debate with Harman and Germaine Greer, model Chloe Goodman challenged the other participants to explain why feminists were telling women how to live their lives. Harman responded: "In a hundred years' time, if you look back at the newspapers of this country, and you see women standing in their knickers with their breasts showing, what would you think about women's role in society?"[54] Separately, Debee Ashby, who had first appeared on Page 3 in the 1980s at age 16, called its cancellation long overdue.[55]

Despite abolishing the feature in its print editions, The Sun continued publishing topless images on its official Page3.com website until March 2017. No new online content appeared after that point, and the website was taken offline in 2018.[56] In April 2019, The Daily Star shifted to a clothed glamour format, becoming the last mainstream print daily to discontinue printing topless images.[57][15] This ended the tradition in the mainstream British press, with only the niche Sunday Sport continuing to publish topless images in tabloid format as of 2023.

Television documentary

[edit]

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Page 3 feature, British television carried a documentary titled Page Three: The Naked Truth on Channel Four, which aired on 17 June 2024. It included stories and updates about the lives of some of the women who appeared in the magazine over the years.[19] After it aired, it was the most popular search term on Wikipedia, garnering 589,000 page views in a single day.[58] For the month of June it tallied more than 800,000 views, against 25,000 for a typical month.

Publications

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See also

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References

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Bibliography

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Page 3

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Page 3 was a signature feature of the British tabloid newspaper The Sun, comprising a prominent photograph of a topless glamour model, typically a young woman posing seminude on the publication's third page, which debuted on 17 November 1970 under editor and continued daily until its topless format ended in January 2015. Introduced shortly after acquired The Sun in 1969 and relaunched it in tabloid format, the feature—initially featuring models like German-born Stephanie Rahn—marked an early foray into explicit pictorial content as entertainment in mainstream British , differentiating the paper from competitors and clothed glamour shots in rivals. It rapidly elevated The Sun's circulation, surpassing outlets like the by the mid-1970s through appeal to working-class male readers, with models often selected for their approachable, "girl-next-door" aesthetic and accompanied by lighthearted captions. The feature generated enduring commercial success for The Sun, which achieved peak daily sales exceeding 4 million copies in the 1980s, though it drew persistent criticism from feminist activists for purportedly objectifying women and normalizing in family-oriented newsprint, culminating in the 2012–2015 " that pressured the paper to replace topless images with clothed shots before fully retiring the format amid declining print readership and shifting cultural norms. Models such as and parlayed their Page 3 appearances into broader media careers, underscoring the feature's role in launching celebrities within the glamour industry.

Origins and Launch

Inception in 1970

The Sun newspaper, acquired by in 1969 and relaunched as a tabloid format on November 17 of that year, sought to differentiate itself from competitors like the by emphasizing sensational content to increase circulation. On November 17, 1970—marking the first anniversary of the tabloid relaunch—editor introduced the Page 3 feature with a topless photograph of 20-year-old German model Stephanie Rahn, accompanied by the caption "Here's a bit of sunshine for you." This marked the debut of what would become a daily staple, featuring unclothed women posed provocatively, initially as a novelty to draw male readers amid stagnant sales. Lamb's decision stemmed from internal discussions to inject glamour elements, inspired partly by the success of similar features in continental European publications and the need to counter the Mirror's dominance in working-class readership. , though not directly credited with proposing the topless format, supported aggressive strategies to revitalize the paper, which had been losing ground since its broadsheet origins under previous ownership. The feature's immediate placement on page 3—following news and sports—was deliberate, positioning it as accessible entertainment rather than buried content, and it reportedly contributed to a circulation uptick in subsequent months by appealing to voyeuristic interests without explicit endorsement of as . Early iterations of Page 3 maintained a lighthearted tone, with models often providing brief, innocuous quotes about hobbies or aspirations, framing the images as personality-driven rather than purely titillating. This approach aligned with the era's shifting post-1960s in Britain, though it drew swift from some moral guardians and rival papers for objectifying women, even as sales data indicated reader approval. By late 1970, the feature had solidified as a fixture, setting the template for decades of similar content that prioritized visual appeal over narrative depth.

Early Development and Expansion

The introduction of the topless photograph on 17 November 1970, featuring German model Stephanie Rahn as the inaugural "Page 3 Girl," marked a deliberate shift toward sensational content under editor and owner . Intended to commemorate the first anniversary of The Sun's tabloid relaunch on 15 November 1969, the feature elicited strong reader approval, with subsequent editions incorporating similar images in response to positive feedback from working-class male audiences. By 1971, the feature's integration had contributed to a near-doubling of The Sun's daily circulation to approximately 2.5 million copies, surpassing competitors like the and establishing the paper as Britain's top-selling daily. This growth reflected broader appeal through accessible, visually driven content amid economic pressures on print media, though direct causation remains debated given concurrent efforts and format changes. The format evolved from occasional appearances to a near-daily staple by the mid-1970s, with British models replacing initial foreign ones and brief captions added to personalize the images, fostering reader loyalty. Expansion in the included emulation by rivals, such as the Daily Mirror's short-lived "Page 3" attempt in 1971, which failed to match The Sun's sales trajectory, underscoring the feature's role in differentiating the paper. Circulation climbed further to over 3 million by 1975, with Page 3 credited by contemporaries for sustaining momentum against union disputes and rising newsprint costs. The practice solidified as a commercial strategy, prioritizing empirical sales data over emerging feminist critiques, and laid groundwork for later celebrity integrations.

Format and Content

Standard Elements of the Feature

The Page 3 feature in The Sun newspaper standardly comprised a large, full-color of a topless female glamour model, positioned prominently on the third page to attract immediate reader attention upon opening the paper. The image depicted the model—typically a in her late teens or early twenties—posing in an alluring yet playful manner, often smiling directly at the camera or adopting a relaxed, confident stance to emphasize physical attributes while maintaining a tone of accessible glamour. This visual element dominated the , with minimal surrounding text to prioritize the photograph's impact. Accompanying the photograph was a concise caption, usually formatted as an introduction such as "Meet [first name]," followed by the model's age, hometown or region of origin (e.g., "18, from Birmingham"), and a short personal quote or biographical snippet. These captions frequently incorporated light-hearted, cheeky language with double entendres, such as references to the model's hobbies, aspirations, or everyday preferences, designed to humanize her while aligning with the tabloid's informal, banter-style voice (e.g., "I love getting my kit off in the sun" or similar playful remarks). Early iterations emphasized suggestive wordplay, but later captions shifted toward simpler listings of name, age, and origin amid evolving editorial sensitivities. The feature appeared daily from its on November 17, 1970, until its discontinuation in topless form on January 20, 2015, forming a consistent ritualistic element amid the paper's news content. While the core structure remained uniform, occasional variations included group shots or themed poses tied to holidays or events, but the individual topless solo portrait with biographical caption defined the archetype. No additional journalistic text, such as articles or context beyond the caption, was standardly included on the page itself, distinguishing it from other pictorial content in the publication.

Notable Models and Careers

Samantha Fox debuted as a Page 3 model in The Sun at age 16 in 1983, appearing topless regularly until 1986, which propelled her into international pop stardom. Her modeling exposure led to music releases, including the 1986 hit "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)," which reached number one in 13 countries and contributed to over 30 million records sold worldwide during her peak. By the late 1980s, Fox's earnings from modeling and music reportedly exceeded those of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, establishing her as one of the feature's most commercially successful alumni. Linda Lusardi began posing for Page 3 in 1976 at age 18, continuing until 1988 and appearing in over 100 features, which earned her the title of "Best Page 3 Girl of All Time" in a 2005 Sun poll. The visibility launched her into acting and television, including roles in soap operas like The Bill and stage productions such as Boobs in the Wood alongside Sid James in 1982, alongside regular appearances on shows like Loose Women. Lusardi later diversified into fitness videos and reality television, sustaining a media career spanning four decades post-modeling. Keeley Hazell started as a Page 3 model in her late teens around 2005, gaining prominence through The Sun and lads' magazines, which facilitated transitions into acting and writing. Her modeling funded drama school attendance, leading to roles in films like (2011) and the Apple TV+ series (2020–2023), where she portrayed Bex, alongside scriptwriting credits for music videos and short films. Hazell's career exemplifies how Page 3 provided initial for some models to pivot into . Other models like (known as ) leveraged Page 3 appearances from 1994 onward into a multifaceted career encompassing , authorship of over 50 books, and business ventures, though marked by personal and financial challenges. , featured intermittently in the 2000s, parlayed her modeling into Hollywood films such as Piranha 3D (2010) and presenting roles, maintaining a profile in fashion and entertainment. These trajectories highlight varied outcomes, with Page 3 often serving as an entry point to broader fame despite later criticisms from participants like Lusardi, who expressed retrospective discomfort.

Commercial and Cultural Role

Impact on The Sun's Circulation

The introduction of Page 3 on 17 1970, featuring topless model Rahn, marked a pivotal shift for The Sun, which had been relaunched as a tabloid in under Rupert Murdoch's ownership. Prior to this feature, the newspaper struggled to differentiate itself in a competitive market dominated by titles like the . Following the debut, circulation reportedly doubled to more than 2.5 million copies daily, transforming The Sun from a marginal player into the UK's best-selling newspaper. This surge continued through the 1970s, with average daily sales reaching 3,793,007 copies in the first half of 1979, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations data. Page 3 became a signature element, credited by industry observers with appealing to a predominantly working-class male readership and driving consistent sales growth amid broader tabloid innovations like bold headlines and sports coverage. By the , The Sun achieved peak circulation exceeding 4 million, sustaining its dominance until digital disruptions and market shifts began eroding print figures in the 2000s. The feature's removal in early 2015 provided retrospective evidence of its commercial role. After The Sun ceased topless images in February 2015—replacing them with clothed models—average daily sales dropped to 1,842,284 copies, a 6.89% decline from January 2015 and 10.09% from February 2014, though subsequent months showed stabilization without further topless content. Similarly, the Irish edition's earlier discontinuation in 2013 had minimal immediate sales impact, suggesting Page 3's influence waned over time amid evolving reader preferences but remained a factor in maintaining loyalty during its heyday.

Reception by Readership and Society

Page 3 enjoyed substantial popularity among The Sun's readership, particularly its core demographic of working-class men, contributing to the newspaper's dominance in the British tabloid market for decades. A 2013 poll commissioned by found that nearly two-thirds of The Sun's readers supported retaining the topless photographs, reflecting broad acceptance within the paper's audience. Similarly, a 2015 survey indicated that 39.6% of readers wanted to keep the feature, while an additional 36.7% were indifferent to its presence, totaling over 75% who did not oppose it. This readership loyalty aligned with the feature's role in fostering daily engagement, as evidenced by its persistence despite intermittent debates. In broader UK society, Page 3 became a cultural fixture of from its 1970 inception through the 2000s, symbolizing the era's blend of sensationalism and glamour that appealed to mass audiences. The feature's debut with model Stephanie Rahn on November 30, 1970, quickly elevated The Sun's circulation above rivals like the , establishing it as a benchmark for commercial viability in popular newspapers. By the mid-1980s, The Sun achieved peak daily sales of 4.2 million copies, a figure attributed in part to Page 3's draw amid a competitive landscape where similar content appeared in outlets like the Daily Star. Models such as and parlayed their appearances into mainstream fame, underscoring the feature's integration into popular entertainment rather than fringe appeal. Societal reception normalized Page 3 as an unremarkable element of everyday media consumption for much of its run, with minimal widespread backlash until the 2010s. Its emulation by competitors in the 1970s and 1980s indicated industry-wide recognition of its market effectiveness, while public discourse often framed it within traditions of British humor and irreverence. Even as editorial shifts occurred—such as the 2013 addition of clothed "Page 3 Idol" alongside topless shots—Sun leadership affirmed its enduring value to readers, with incoming editor David Dinsmore declaring in June 2013 that "Page Three girls are here to stay." This reflected a pragmatic societal tolerance rooted in the feature's alignment with the tabloid's C2DE readership profile, where empirical sales data outweighed sporadic elite critiques.

Defenses and Justifications

Economic Benefits for Models

Models received relatively low direct compensation for individual Page 3 appearances, with Katie Price stating in 2016 that she earned £30 per session during her time as a glamour model under the pseudonym Jordan. This fee structure reflected the era's norms for tabloid glamour shoots, where the primary value lay not in immediate payments but in the massive exposure from The Sun's circulation exceeding 3 million daily copies at its peak in the 1990s. The feature served as a launchpad for long-term financial gains, propelling select models into celebrity status and diverse revenue streams. , a prominent Page 3 regular in the mid-1980s, leveraged her visibility to pivot to music, releasing hit singles like "Touch Me" that sold millions worldwide and secured personal appearance fees of $4,000 each by the late 1980s. Her subsequent career yielded an estimated of $20 million as of recent assessments. Katie Price similarly parlayed Page 3 fame into a multimillion-pound empire, amassing up to £45 million by the early 2000s through , autobiographies, equestrian products, and endorsements, crediting her modeling breakthrough for rapid wealth accumulation. Other former models, such as those reflecting in 2025 interviews, described retrospective earnings as "crazy" high due to follow-on opportunities in media and public appearances, far outstripping standard glamour modeling rates. Proponents of the feature argued it empowered participants by choice, offering working-class women access to fame and income unattainable in conventional modeling paths, though outcomes varied widely and not all achieved sustained success.

Arguments for Freedom of Expression

Advocates for Page 3 maintained that its inclusion exemplified editorial autonomy within a free press, as the feature consisted of consensual photographs of adult women that complied with British obscenity standards under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, which prohibits material likely to deprave and corrupt but permits non-explicit nudity in journalistic contexts. Such content, they argued, posed no direct harm, with models reporting voluntary participation and financial benefits, underscoring that restrictions would infringe on the publisher's right to cater to reader preferences without state or societal coercion. Opponents of campaigns seeking its removal, including columnist Simon Jenkins, characterized the pressures—such as university unions and councils banning The Sun from campuses and libraries, lobbying advertisers for boycotts, and supermarkets concealing copies—as coercive tactics resembling censorship, designed to modify behavior through intimidation rather than open debate. Jenkins noted that these efforts targeted The Sun disproportionately due to its high circulation of over 2 million daily copies in the early 2010s, contrasting with tolerance for similar imagery in fashion magazines or post-watershed television, and warned that yielding to such moral campaigns erodes tolerance for diverse expressions in media. A 2012 YouGov poll indicated that 66% of The Sun's readers supported retaining the feature, suggesting that editorial decisions responsive to audience demand, rather than external mandates, align with free market principles of expression. Padraig Reidy of Index on Censorship framed Page 3 as a demonstration of free speech's functionality, where publishers exercise their liberty to produce content deemed harmless by law, while critics leverage counter-speech, petitions with over 200,000 signatures by 2015, and consumer boycotts to influence outcomes without invoking governmental bans. This process, Reidy contended, avoids the pitfalls of state censorship seen in regimes suppressing dissent, allowing societal norms to evolve organically; defenders viewed discontinuation under duress as a loss for pluralism, potentially inviting further encroachments on unpopular but legal journalism, such as investigative reporting that offends powerful interests. Empirical data from circulation figures showed Page 3 correlating with The Sun's dominance, outselling rivals by millions from 1970 to the 2010s, implying that suppressing it prioritizes subjective offense over evidence-based utility in attracting readership. Broader defenses invoked first principles of expression, asserting that protecting even titillating or "lowbrow" content safeguards against selective moralism, as historical precedents like 1980s efforts by campaigner to prosecute Page 3 under laws failed in court, affirming its protected status. The Sun's own statements emphasized democratic pluralism, stating that "in a free and open democracy everyone is entitled to an opinion about Page 3," extending this to their prerogative to publish amid criticism without capitulating to organized opposition.

Criticisms and Controversies

Claims of Objectification and Sexism

Critics of Page 3, particularly feminist activists and organizations, contended that the feature women by routinely publishing topless photographs of young models presented primarily for male sexual gratification, thereby reducing them to their physical attributes rather than portraying them as multifaceted individuals. This practice, they argued, normalized the commodification of female bodies in a mainstream , fostering a culture where women's value was tied predominantly to their appearance and sexual appeal. The , initiated by writer Lucy-Anne Holmes in August 2012, explicitly framed the feature as conditioning readers to perceive women as sex objects, amassing over 220,000 signatures in a urging The Sun to discontinue it as an outdated and demeaning tradition. Campaigners, including the group Object, protested that Page 3 exemplified media sexism by juxtaposing serious with images of seminude women, implying that female nudity equated to trivial entertainment akin to weather reports or sports scores. Earlier critiques echoed these sentiments; Labour MP Clare Short, who introduced a failed parliamentary bill in 1986 to ban such images, described Page 3 as pornographic and harmful to women's dignity, prompting backlash from The Sun which labeled her a "jealous" killjoy. Feminist commentators further asserted that the feature reinforced gender stereotypes by consistently depicting a narrow archetype of women—young, slender, and large-breasted—while excluding diverse representations, thus perpetuating sexist norms in British popular culture. Some advocates linked these portrayals to broader societal attitudes, claiming Page 3 contributed to the normalization of that underpinned , though such assertions often relied on anecdotal offense rather than quantitative studies demonstrating causal effects on behavior or violence rates. Critics from outlets aligned with progressive viewpoints, such as , maintained that even non-topless iterations post-2013 continued to objectify by emphasizing models' bodies over substance, underscoring persistent in . Critics of Page 3 have alleged that its depictions of topless women normalize the of females, thereby contributing to broader societal tolerance for , including domestic abuse. In 2012, then-Liberal Democrat equalities minister argued that the feature "sexualises our society" and "can incite domestic violence," asserting a direct causal pathway from such imagery to abusive behaviors in relationships. This claim echoed broader feminist critiques, such as those from the , which contended that Page 3 images foster a "culture of and towards women" by portraying females primarily as sexual objects devoid of agency or . However, these assertions rely on correlational interpretations of theory rather than longitudinal studies isolating Page 3's specific effects; on media more generally indicates associations between exposure to sexualized depictions and increased acceptance of interpersonal myths, but causation remains debated and not uniquely tied to tabloid . Additional allegations posit that Page 3 exacerbates disturbances among young women by glamorizing a narrow, hyper-sexualized ideal of female attractiveness, encouraging aspirations toward modeling careers fraught with exploitation risks. Surveys have documented high interest among adolescent girls in glamour modeling—up to 63% expressing preference for such paths—influenced by media portrayals that equate self-sexualization with and success, potentially leading to and dissatisfaction with natural body variations. Critics link this to downstream harms, including eating disorders and vulnerability to industry abuses like inappropriate touching or , as reported in modeling sectors where predominates. Empirical evidence from objectification studies supports short-term links between sexualized and heightened body surveillance or in women, though effects are moderated by individual factors like pre-existing and not exclusively attributable to print features like Page 3. Proponents of these links further claim Page 3 reinforces "rape culture" by embedding adversarial sexual beliefs and hostility toward women in popular media, indirectly sustaining sexist attitudes that underpin gender-based harms. Objectification theory posits that repeated dehumanizing portrayals erode empathy, correlating with endorsement of rape myths and tolerance for sexual aggression in experimental settings. Campaigners, including those from the Everyday Sexism Project, have highlighted Page 3 as emblematic of "everyday sexism" that trivializes women's autonomy, allegedly mirroring and amplifying real-world harassment dynamics. Yet, rigorous causal evidence specific to Page 3 is absent; broader meta-analyses on media effects show mixed results, with some indicating desensitization to violence but others finding no incremental harm from non-explicit content like topless posing compared to prevalent digital pornography. These allegations, often advanced by advocacy groups with ideological commitments, contrast with defenses emphasizing individual agency and the absence of proven population-level spikes in harms during Page 3's four-decade run.

Organized Opposition

No More Page 3 Campaign

The No More Page 3 campaign was launched in August 2012 by British writer and performer Lucy-Anne Holmes as a grassroots feminist effort to pressure The Sun newspaper to discontinue its long-standing practice of featuring topless photographs of young women on its third page, a feature that had appeared daily since 1970. Holmes initiated the campaign with an online petition on Change.org directed at then-editor Dominic Mohan, contending that the images perpetuated an outdated and demeaning depiction of women alongside news content. The petition explicitly requested the removal of topless models, arguing the feature clashed with contemporary standards of gender equality, though it stopped short of advocating legal bans or censorship. By early 2015, the petition had amassed over 217,000 signatures, reflecting widespread public engagement facilitated through platforms like and , where supporters shared personal testimonies and memes highlighting perceived inconsistencies in The Sun's content standards. The campaign secured endorsements from more than 140 Members of Parliament across party lines, as well as organizations including the and the British Youth Council, which formally backed calls to end the topless tradition. Additional support came from trade unions and over 30 universities, with activities encompassing public protests outside The Sun's offices, letter-writing drives to owner , and targeted outreach to advertisers and sponsors to underscore economic leverage against the feature. Campaign rhetoric centered on Page 3 as a symbol of institutionalized , claiming it normalized the reduction of women to sexual objects in a family-oriented read by millions, including children, though proponents offered no peer-reviewed evidence directly causally linking the images to measurable societal harms like increased . Critics within liberal circles, such as some libertarian-leaning commentators, dismissed the effort as moralistic overreach akin to voluntary , arguing it prioritized subjective offense over and ignored reader evidenced by the feature's decades-long persistence. Despite facing online harassment and accusations of puritanism from opponents, the campaign's decentralized model empowered individual activists, with Holmes crediting its momentum to emotional appeals and viral sharing rather than institutional backing. The initiative achieved its stated goal on January 19, 2015, when The Sun published a Page 3 image of a clothed model for the first time in years, prompting campaign leaders to declare while cautioning that sexualized depictions of women continued in the paper under different guises. Post-2015, the group shifted focus to broader media accountability, though internal reflections highlighted activist burnout from sustained opposition, including personal abuse directed at Holmes and volunteers. Independent analyses of the campaign's impact emphasize its role in amplifying feminist discourse on everyday sexism via digital tools, yet question whether the change stemmed primarily from external pressure or internal editorial calculations amid declining print circulation and shifting cultural norms.

Involvement of Politicians and Celebrities

Labour MP initiated parliamentary efforts against Page 3 in the late 1980s, introducing the Indecent Displays (Newspapers) Bill in 1986 to prohibit the publication of topless images in national newspapers, arguing they constituted soft pornography. failed amid opposition, including personal attacks from The Sun, which labeled Short a "killjoy" and superimposed her face on a topless model's body in 2004. Short continued criticizing the feature into the 2010s, crediting public pressure but not her efforts alone for its eventual changes. In the 2010s, the received cross-party support from numerous MPs. MP wore a "No More Page 3" T-shirt during a 2013 Commons debate on media , prompting Speaker to request she cover it to avoid causing offense. endorsed the petition, highlighting its role in addressing everyday and its influence on young readers' perceptions of women. also backed the initiative, contributing to parliamentary momentum that pressured The Sun. , as , welcomed the 2015 discontinuation, though she critiqued the paper's initial bikini-clad alternatives as insufficient. Actress and writer Lucy-Anne Holmes founded the in August 2012 via a , amassing over 240,000 signatures by calling for the removal of topless images from the paper. The effort drew endorsements from celebrities including broadcaster , comedian , and author , who signed the urging Sun editor Dominic Mohan to end the feature. Radio presenter and comedian Jenny Éclair also voiced support, framing Page 3 as outdated amid shifting cultural norms on media representation. While opposition dominated public celebrity involvement, some former Page 3 models defended the feature. Singer and model Samantha Fox, who posed topless for the page in the 1980s, argued in a 2022 television interview that it was "never risqué" and represented harmless glamour rather than exploitation. Such defenses highlighted divisions, with critics attributing limited high-profile celebrity opposition to fears of media backlash or career risks in the industry.

Discontinuation and Aftermath

The 2015 Decision

On January 16, 2015, The Sun published what would become its final topless photograph on Page 3 in the UK print edition, featuring model Lucy Collett in a bare-breasted pose, ending a tradition that had run daily since November 1970. From the following Monday edition on January 19, the feature shifted to images of models in bikinis or other clothed attire, such as a photograph of model Kelly Brook in a swimsuit, without any accompanying editorial announcement or explanation from the newspaper. This abrupt change followed the Irish edition's discontinuation of topless images in January 2013, amid regulatory pressures specific to that market. The decision was spearheaded by editor David Dinsmore, who had assumed the role in June 2013, and occurred without public consultation from proprietor Rupert Murdoch, though Murdoch had previously defended the feature in 2013 by tweeting that banning it would not sway voter preferences. Internal factors cited in contemporaneous reports included adapting to a younger readership less tolerant of explicit content, the rise of digital platforms where Page 3 content could migrate (with topless images retained on thesun.co.uk's dedicated Page 3 section until 2017), and declining print circulation, which had fallen from a peak of over 4 million in the 1990s to around 2 million by 2015. External pressures played a role, particularly the No More Page 3 campaign launched in 2012, which amassed over 220,000 petition signatures by 2015 and secured backing from advertisers like Barclays and Oxfam, who withdrew support in response to public boycotts. Politicians across parties, including Labour's Caroline Dinenage and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, had repeatedly called for the feature's end, arguing it normalized objectification, while a 2014 petition to Parliament for statutory regulation gained modest traction but highlighted growing institutional scrutiny. The Sun's spokesman initially dismissed reports of the change as "wild speculation" on January 20, but the policy shift was evident and irreversible in print, reflecting a pragmatic response to sustained advocacy rather than a wholesale capitulation, as topless content persisted online.

Immediate Reactions and Shifts in Content

The Sun's decision to cease featuring topless models on Page 3, announced on January 20, 2015, via a report in its sister publication , elicited polarized responses. Campaigners from the No More Page 3 movement hailed it as a significant triumph after years of advocacy, with co-founder Lucy-Anne Holmes stating that it marked the end of an era that normalized the of women in . Politicians aligned with the campaign expressed approval; Labour MP Emma Reynolds tweeted, "Delighted the Sun has dropped #page3 – shame it took so long but nevertheless good news." Supporters of the feature, including some former models and free expression advocates, expressed regret, viewing the change as an unnecessary concession to external pressure rather than a reflection of reader demand. A Grazia opinion piece argued that Page 3 represented harmless entertainment and that claims of objectification overlooked women's agency in participating, lamenting the loss as part of broader cultural prudishness. Rupert Murdoch, the newspaper's proprietor, endorsed the shift on Twitter, calling it a "sensible decision" amid evolving societal norms, though he did not attribute it explicitly to campaign pressure. In the immediate aftermath, The Sun experienced a noticeable decline in circulation, with sales dropping by approximately 10% in the months following the change compared to prior periods, prompting speculation that the feature had contributed to reader loyalty among its core demographic. Critics of the discontinuation, including media analysts, cautioned against hasty causal links, noting concurrent market trends like digital shifts affecting print sales across tabloids. Content on Page 3 transitioned swiftly to clothed images of models, often in , , or swimsuits, maintaining a focus on but without . The first post-announcement edition on , , featured a model named Jodie in a bikini with the caption emphasizing her attire, signaling an intent to retain the slot's promotional role while complying with the new . Campaigners expressed dissatisfaction with this evolution, arguing that the semi-revealing replacements perpetuated similar dynamics of under the guise of modernization, as critiqued in feminist analyses that described it as a superficial rather than substantive reform.

Legacy

Cultural Influence and Memorabilia

Page 3 exerted a notable influence on British glamour modeling and entertainment industries by propelling several models into broader fame. Samantha Fox debuted on the feature at age 16 in 1983 and was named Page 3 Girl of the Year for 1984, 1985, and 1986, after which she transitioned to music with her single "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1986. Similarly, Lucy Collett won The Sun's Page 3 Idol contest in 2012, leading to regular appearances and features in magazines such as Maxim and FHM. The feature, running from November 1970 to 2015, became a staple of tabloid culture, reflecting aspects of 1970s and 1980s sexual liberation while drawing daily readership to The Sun, which reported millions of copies sold amid the tradition. Some former models described the experience as empowering, emphasizing acceptance of diverse body types and the autonomy they held in their portrayals. It influenced the aesthetics of lads' magazines and pub banter in working-class Britain, embedding itself as a cultural touchstone despite polarized views. Memorabilia related to Page 3 includes official calendars produced by The Sun, such as the 2008 and 2009 editions compiling annual model photographs, which remain collectible. Limited-edition playing cards featuring 58 iconic Page 3 images, originally not for sale, circulate among enthusiasts. Vintage jigsaw puzzles and original newspapers from specific dates, often highlighting particular models, are auctioned, with calendars from the 1990s to 2014 fetching prices on secondary markets.

Documentaries and Publications

In 2009, the broadcast Page Three Teens, a documentary that profiled 17-year-old model Chelsea White, who had begun her career at age six and was contemplating transitioning to topless Page 3 modeling despite considering herself too old for teenage features by that point. produced Page Three: The Naked Truth in June 2020, an hour-long retrospective marking the 50th anniversary of Page 3's debut in The Sun on November 17, 1970; the program included interviews with former models such as and , alongside commentary on the feature's cultural role and the campaigns against it, though reviewers noted its relatively lighthearted tone and limited exploration of negative experiences among participants. Academic publications have analyzed Page 3 primarily through lenses of media representation and gender dynamics, often from feminist perspectives that emphasize objectification. For example, a 2015 discussion in The Conversation by media scholars referenced works by Ros Gill, Karen Ross, and Liesbet van Zoonen, which empirically examined patterns of women's sexualization in British print media, including Page 3's role in normalizing topless imagery alongside clothed male subjects. These studies, drawing on content analyses of thousands of images, found consistent disparities in depiction but have been critiqued for conflating visual appeal with causal harm absent direct longitudinal evidence linking such features to broader social outcomes like violence rates, which remained stable or declined in the UK during Page 3's run from 1970 to 2015. Katie Toms's 2021 paper "Obscenity versus objectification: a feminist reading of Leveson and its aftermath," published via City, University of London, reviewed Page 3 within the 2012 into press ethics, arguing it exemplified routine sexualization defended by The Sun's editor Dominic Mohan as non-obscene; the analysis, grounded in inquiry transcripts, highlighted tensions between legal definitions of indecency and cultural norms but relied on interpretive frameworks rather than quantitative harm metrics. Similarly, a study re-examined Page 3 images using anti-pornography, pro-sex, and liberal feminist paradigms, concluding they aligned more with critiques than explicit , based on semiotic analysis of poses and captions from the onward. Memoirs by former Page 3 models, such as Samantha Fox's The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow (published 2017), provide firsthand accounts of the feature's professional demands and personal impacts, describing it as empowering for some participants amid financial incentives—models reportedly earned £100–£300 per shoot in the , adjusted for to roughly £300–£900 today—while acknowledging industry pressures without endorsing external harm narratives. No major peer-reviewed longitudinal studies directly attribute societal ills to Page 3, with empirical on gender attitudes showing shifts influenced more by economic and technological factors than isolated content.

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