SuicideGirls
Encyclopedia
SuicideGirls is a website
that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk
and indie-styled young women (although styles reminiscent of the 1940s and '50s pin-up models are also incorporated) who are known as the "Suicide Girls". The site functions as an online community
with member profiles, member blogs, message boards, chatrooms, and the option to join networking groups based upon interests. Suicidegirls also features interviews with people from popular and alternative culture, user-submitted news articles, and an online merchandise store. Access to most of the site requires a paid membership.
, Oregon
. In 2003, the site operations moved to Los Angeles, California
. Suhl and Mooney started the site "just to see hot punk rock girls naked." Mooney has also stated that the purpose of the site is to give women control over how their sexuality is depicted. The site is privately co-owned; in addition to Suhl and Mooney, co-owners include Steve Simitzis (server admin and SG user, "s5") and Simitzis's wife, Olivia Ball (former site programmer and Suicide Girl).
According to Moody, the term "suicide girl" comes from Fight Club
author and Portland, Oregon
resident Chuck Palahniuk
, who wrote in his novel Survivor (1999): "It's the same with these suicide girls calling me up." As a trademark
applied to the website and related merchandise and media, the term "SuicideGirls" is a single word, though this camel notation is often violated by external sources who split it into two words. The girls themselves are referred to as "Suicide Girls".
Actress Paget Brewster
has photographed models for the site, as have guitarist Dave Navarro
and singer Mike Doughty
.
, Tattoo Girls Japan, MTV Italy
, Arte French TV, and Emeequis magazine in Mexico.
Positive reviews of the SuicideGirls site appeared in Rolling Stone
, Wired, The New Yorker
and other mainstream magazines. It was featured in a 2006 episode of the CBS
program CSI: NY
titled "Oedipus Hex" (guest-starring Missy Suicide), and also on HBO's Real Sex
special, on ABC's Nightline, on the G4
series Icons
, and on the Showtime series Californication
. A number of Suicide Girls also appeared in the 2007 remake of The Wizard of Gore
directed by Jeremy Kasten
and starring Crispin Glover
. The literary magazine Fence used a Suicide Girl for the cover of a recent issue. Rock musician Courtney Love
has written what Willamette Week described as "rambling, stream-of-consciousness posts on the site." She also brought along three Suicide Girls (Emma, Robin and Ruby) during an appearance on MTV
's "24 Hours of Love." Sixty-six Suicide Girls appeared in the PROBOT music video
"Shake Your Blood". The Boston Phoenix did a two-part review of the site and its models. "The Naked Sorority" and "The Naked Sorority Part II" report on and discuss the girls themselves and the phenomenon.
, CMJ, SXSW, the Tribeca Film Festival
, and ComicCon events around the nation. SG also has an embedded war reporter Michael J. Totten who publishes news, commentary and features from the Middle East on the SG newswire. The newswire provides a forum for the SG community to read up on areas of interest and discuss and share their own opinions about the material on the newswire message boards.
The newswire has featured celebrity columnists such as: Brad Warner
, author of Hardcore Zen
and Sit Down and Shut Up
; Scott Ian
, co-founder and guitarist for legendary metal band Anthrax
; Wil Wheaton
, Geek author and actor; Chris Gore
, founder of Film Threat
; Margaret Cho
, actress and comedian; Jonathan Kesselman, director of The Hebrew Hammer
; Rob Corddry
, actor and former Daily Show correspondent; Warren Ellis
, author of science fiction and super hero comics, novels and television; Martin Atkins
, author and musician known for his work with post-punk and industrial bands such as Public Image Ltd.
, Ministry
, Pigface
, and Killing Joke
.
SG's feature interviews include both cult and high-profile talent such as: Lady Gaga
; Kathy Griffin
; Russell Simmons
; Michelle Rodriguez
; Ice Cube
; Steven Adler
; Marilyn Manson
; Nikki Sixx
; Travis Barker
; Slash
; David Mamet
; Audrey Tautou
; Benicio del Toro
; Rob Zombie
; Mike Patton
; Maynard James Keenan
; Dave Mustaine
; Dita Von Teese
; David Lynch
; Otto von Schirach
; Debbie Harry
; Jhonen Vasquez
; Maggie Gyllenhaal
; Johnny Depp
; Neil Gaiman
; Woody Allen
; Bill Murray
; Natalie Portman
; Christopher Walken
; Emile Hirsch
; Kate Nash
; Del James
; Nina Hartley
; and David Belle
.
SG also produces a weekly radio show on Indie 103.1 FM
in Los Angeles, broadcasting Sunday nights from 10pm to 12 am PST. The show has been on air for 6 years and Indie 103.1 was named the "Best Radio Station 2008" by Rolling Stone Magazine. On the show, Suicide Girls take phone calls, give advice, discuss current events and play music. Past phone-in and in-person guests on the show included Maynard James Keenan, Mindless Self Indulgence
, Dave Navarro, Tom Green
, the Melvins, Rob Corddry, Ron Jeremy
and more. Past Radio Show guest interviews can be downloaded as podcasts from the website. Indie 103.1 is no longer broadcasting on air and is now a streaming-media station online.
Other celebrity members include:
Wheaton, Corddry and Isaacs are contributors to the SuicideGirls Newswire. Kesselman is a columnist.
and "SuicideGirls: The Italian Villa" released on October 24, 2006. Both were directed by Mike Marshall. The films aired on the US Cable network Showtime in regular rotations beginning in October 2005 and November 2006 respectively. "SuicideGirls: The First Tour" chronicles the lives of 10 performers on the first North American Burlesque
Tour produced by SuicideGirls, while "SuicideGirls: The Italian Villa" features interviews and photo shoots of 15 girls from European countries including, Italy, The UK, Finland, and Sweden. "SuicideGirls: Guide to Living" was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 16, 2010.
on 16 July 2010.
in Austin, TX; Trocadero Theatre
in Philadelphia, and The Empty Bottle
in Chicago. The SuicideGirls performed in the 2004 Download Festival
, the 2004 Reading and Leeds Festivals
in the UK, and toured Australia from April to May 2005. The SuicideGirls Live show opened for Courtney Love
on her 2004 West Coast tour. They also opened for the Guns n' Roses
2006 tour of the US and Canada playing stadiums of 15,000 people including the Allstate Arena
in Rosemont, IL, the Rose Garden Arena
in Portland, OR and the James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA.
A television show documenting the tour, scheduled to air on VH1, is currently in pre-production.
The first book entitled "SuicideGirls" was originally published June 1, 2004. Published by Feral House
. It is approximately 160 pages long and contains over 200 color digital photos that originally appeared on the website. The images were photographed by Missy Suicide and feature primarily the models from the west coast of the United States. Popular SuicideGirls model "Mary" had the SG logo digitally placed on her biceps to appear tattooed on for the cover of the book. ISBN 1932595031. The book received the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Award
in Erotica
.
The second book, "SuicideGirls: Beauty Redefined", was originally published December 1, 2008. Published by Ammo Books. It is described as "a 396 page hardcover tribute to the stunning SuicideGirls from around the world. The images are collected by region and represent the most beautiful nude images of the SuicideGirls from the past 8 years. This massive tome comes with a discreet black cover that would look good on any coffee table." All copies sold through the SuicideGirls website come signed by Missy Suicide.
featured Suicide Girls in Hack/Slash
: Annual Vol. 1 in 2008. IDW Publishing
published a four-issue Suicide Girls mini-series in 2011.
The first, entitled "SuicideGirls: Papercuts", was published in March, 2007. The magazine is 72 pages long and contains collage-style images of models from the website, as well as 6 interviews that also originally appeared on the site:
"SuicideGirls Magazine: No. 2" was published in July, 2007. This issue is 86 pages long and continues the collage-style format of the previous issue, along with interviews accompanied by illustrations of the interviewees:
The magazine published shortly after the death of SG's star interviewer, Daniel Robert Epstein, was dedicated to him in a handwritten note from Missy Suicide in the back cover of the issue. Both issues were designed and art directed by Courtney Riot.
, knives or swords, or simulated blood. The Justice Department indicated that images of that type might be the subject of obscenity
prosecutions, though SuicideGirls was not mentioned as a target. In January 2007, the "banned" images were made visible again.
Many of the former models involved in the 2005 dispute are now involved with the competing sites GodsGirls
and Deviant Nation. Deviant Nation was sued in civil court by SuicideGirls. Gods Girls have been sued by SuicideGirls LLC for hiring models who were allegedly still under contract with SuicideGirls and for allegedly violating SuicideGirls trademarks. Several former models were also threatened with legal action. In November 2006, SuicideGirls fired one of their main photographers, Philip Warner
, (aka Lithium Picnic), for acting as the primary photographer for the website of former SuicideGirl Apnea. The termination was followed in February 2007 by a lawsuit by SuicideGirls against Warner. According to a press release by Warner and Apnea, as of February 2007, none of SuicideGirls LLC's lawsuits or threatened actions against former models or competing sites has resulted in a victory for the plaintiff
, however, the legal expenses in the lawsuits have been costly and time consuming for the defendants. In June 2008, Lithium Picnic and Apnea issued a press release stating "We all sat down together and worked out an agreement that is really fair to everyone... We want to make it clear that we 100% have no hostilities towards SuicideGirls in any way anymore, we all came to a really fair agreement over this dispute, and there were no bad people here, just mistakes and misunderstandings."
The DVD, SuicideGirls: The First Tour, implies ownership, creation, and control by Missy Suicide. No mention of Sean Suhl appears.
In a feature piece released in 2005, alternative weekly publication The Boston Phoenix
, reported on former models' dissatisfaction with company practices. Models interviewed referred to SuicideGirls president Sean Suhl as “verbally abusive” and an “active misogynist,” and described the website as a “slap in the face to feminism”.
In a transcript of a SuicideGirls hearing with rival site Godsgirls, Suhl's attorney refers to models facing inconvenience in attending a postponed audit as not "Nobel peace prize traveling women from around the world" but rather "strippers and nude models." To this he adds, "Not being prejudice. Just being honest".
Other allegations surrounding the SuicideGirls' administration have appeared in a number of established publications, including New York Press
and Wired magazine
.
According to statistics released by the website, in July 2005 one girl left, followed by 11 in August, 25 in September, and 11 in October. According to former models interviewed in a feature piece by Silicon Valley's magazine Metro Active, this was, in their opinion, due to the general homogenization of the site, "a process that alternative subcultures are unfortunately used to".
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
and indie-styled young women (although styles reminiscent of the 1940s and '50s pin-up models are also incorporated) who are known as the "Suicide Girls". The site functions as an online community
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
with member profiles, member blogs, message boards, chatrooms, and the option to join networking groups based upon interests. Suicidegirls also features interviews with people from popular and alternative culture, user-submitted news articles, and an online merchandise store. Access to most of the site requires a paid membership.
History
The SuicideGirls website and concept were created by the founding partners of parent company SG Services, Inc., Sean Suhl ("Sean") and Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") in late 2001, and based in PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. In 2003, the site operations moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Suhl and Mooney started the site "just to see hot punk rock girls naked." Mooney has also stated that the purpose of the site is to give women control over how their sexuality is depicted. The site is privately co-owned; in addition to Suhl and Mooney, co-owners include Steve Simitzis (server admin and SG user, "s5") and Simitzis's wife, Olivia Ball (former site programmer and Suicide Girl).
According to Moody, the term "suicide girl" comes from Fight Club
Fight Club (novel)
Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. Inspired by his doctor's exasperated remark that insomnia is not suffering, he finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups...
author and Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
resident Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk
Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter...
, who wrote in his novel Survivor (1999): "It's the same with these suicide girls calling me up." As a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
applied to the website and related merchandise and media, the term "SuicideGirls" is a single word, though this camel notation is often violated by external sources who split it into two words. The girls themselves are referred to as "Suicide Girls".
Website features
The website features a community created around the pin-up photos of the Suicide Girls. The members and the models all have the option to have a profile, keep journals, and upload their own photos and videos. There are message boards, public and private groups, and a chat room in which members can communicate with one another. There is a local feature in which members post their favorite local haunts, tattoo shops, and other businesses. Members in your area and regional groups are highlighted, and a calendar of events and map of your area are listed with the location of the previously mentioned businesses. The site features interviews and an ongoing newswire with celebrity columnists.Photosets
The images are collected into "photosets" that contain 40–60 images that take place in the same setting or theme. Originally, only one photoset went live on the site per day, but this eventually increased to two or more every day. As of March 2008 there are nearly 1.9 million images live on the site. The photographs are intended both as an homage to classic pin-up art and a portrayal of alternative images of beauty. The SuicideGirls create the theme of each of their photosets, and each is designed to showcase how each girl feels most beautiful about themselves.Actress Paget Brewster
Paget Brewster
Paget Valerie Brewster is an American actress. She is currently known for playing Special Agent Emily Prentiss on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. In June 2010, it was said that her role on Criminal Minds would be reduced in the sixth season. In March 2011, Brewster's character left the series...
has photographed models for the site, as have guitarist Dave Navarro
Dave Navarro
David Michael "Dave" Navarro is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Panic Channel, and many others.- Early life :...
and singer Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
.
Models
As of March 2011 the website features over 2,100 Suicide Girls, each billed simply under a first name or one-word nickname. Most of the models have nontraditional appearance modifications such as colored hair, dreadlocks, piercings, more extreme body modifications, or tattoos. Images include professionally shot photos as well as self-written profiles and journal entries which they update as often as they see fit with their thoughts, snapshots, anecdotes, rants, and whatever else they wish to include. The girls themselves are involved directly with the community and interact in groups and on message boards. Members can send the models private messages as well. The site receives over 1,000 applications weekly from new models interested in becoming Suicide Girls.Online popularity
SuicideGirls has also been featured in press outlets including People Magazine AustraliaPeople (Australian magazine)
People is a weekly Australian lad's mag published by ACP Publishing, a division of PBL Media. It has been published since the 1950s. It is not to be confused with the gossip magazine known by that name in the United States; that magazine is published under the name Who in Australia.People focuses...
, Tattoo Girls Japan, MTV Italy
MTV Italy
MTV Italy is the Italian speaking version of the popular 24 hour music and youth entertainment channel. Unlike its counterparts elsewhere in Europe, MTV Italia is a national channel available free-to-air on terrestrial television since September 1, 1997 and available on digital terrestrial...
, Arte French TV, and Emeequis magazine in Mexico.
Media coverage and spinoffs
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Wired, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and other mainstream magazines. It was featured in a 2006 episode of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
program CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
titled "Oedipus Hex" (guest-starring Missy Suicide), and also on HBO's Real Sex
Real Sex
Real Sex is a television series broadcast on and a production of HBO. As its name implies, Real Sex is a sexually explicit "magazine" which "explores sex '90s style."...
special, on ABC's Nightline, on the G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
series Icons
Icons (TV series)
Icons was a documentary TV show on G4 that originally focused on significant people, companies, products, history, and milestones in world of video games. It was relaunched in 2006 and focused entirely on pop culture. It was cancelled soon afterwards....
, and on the Showtime series Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
. A number of Suicide Girls also appeared in the 2007 remake of The Wizard of Gore
The Wizard of Gore (2007 film)
The Wizard of Gore is a 2007 splatter/noir film directed by Jeremy Kasten. It stars Crispin Glover as Montag the Magnificent, Kip Pardue as Ed Bigelow, Bijou Phillips as Ed's girlfriend Maggie, and the Suicide Girls as Montag's victims...
directed by Jeremy Kasten
Jeremy Kasten
Jeremy Craig Kasten is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the field of independent horror as well as an editor.- Career :Kasten attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and soon after moved to Los Angeles, California working various roles in film crews until learning the craft of...
and starring Crispin Glover
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor, director and screenwriter, recording artist, publisher, and author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, unfriendly recluse Rubin Farr in Rubin and Ed, the...
. The literary magazine Fence used a Suicide Girl for the cover of a recent issue. Rock musician Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
has written what Willamette Week described as "rambling, stream-of-consciousness posts on the site." She also brought along three Suicide Girls (Emma, Robin and Ruby) during an appearance on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "24 Hours of Love." Sixty-six Suicide Girls appeared in the PROBOT music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
"Shake Your Blood". The Boston Phoenix did a two-part review of the site and its models. "The Naked Sorority" and "The Naked Sorority Part II" report on and discuss the girls themselves and the phenomenon.
Newswire and interviews
The SG newswire features daily columns, news items and feature interviews covering a diverse range of subjects, including politics, music, film, celebrity, gaming and technology, philosophy, love and relationships, spirituality, and food. Feature articles cover the world of arts and entertainment from underground niche artists to award winning filmmakers, directors, authors and recording artists. SG journalists go on location to movie sets, video shoots, press conferences, and cover festivals such as the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, CMJ, SXSW, the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
, and ComicCon events around the nation. SG also has an embedded war reporter Michael J. Totten who publishes news, commentary and features from the Middle East on the SG newswire. The newswire provides a forum for the SG community to read up on areas of interest and discuss and share their own opinions about the material on the newswire message boards.
The newswire has featured celebrity columnists such as: Brad Warner
Brad Warner
Brad Warner is a Sōtō Zen priest, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist.-Biography:Brad Warner was born in Hamilton, Ohio in 1964. His family traveled a lot for his father's job and he lived in different countries around the world but grew up mainly near Akron, Ohio and...
, author of Hardcore Zen
Hardcore Zen
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality is a book written by Brad Warner, an author and ordained Zen priest. It was released in October 2003 by Wisdom Publications...
and Sit Down and Shut Up
Sit Down and Shut Up
Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, & Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye is a book written by Brad Warner, an author and ordained Zen priest...
; Scott Ian
Scott Ian
Scott Ian Rosenfeld , better known by the stage name Scott Ian, is an American musician, best known as the rhythm & lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Anthrax. Ian is also the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death...
, co-founder and guitarist for legendary metal band Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
; Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, Geek author and actor; Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Christopher Patrick "Chris" Gore is an acclaimed speaker and writer on the topic of independent film.Gore was born September 5, 1965 in Big Rapids, Michigan. He is the main writer and the founder of Film Threat, a project dedicated to covering independent and underground movies which he started in...
, founder of Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
; Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
, actress and comedian; Jonathan Kesselman, director of The Hebrew Hammer
The Hebrew Hammer
The Hebrew Hammer is a 2003 American film directed by Jonathan Kesselman. It stars Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, and Peter Coyote...
; Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, actor and former Daily Show correspondent; Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
, author of science fiction and super hero comics, novels and television; Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
, author and musician known for his work with post-punk and industrial bands such as Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
, Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
, and Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
.
SG's feature interviews include both cult and high-profile talent such as: Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
; Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin is an American actress, stand-up comedienne, television personality, New York Times best-selling author and an LGBT rights advocate. Griffin first gained recognition for appearances on two episodes of Seinfeld, and then for her supporting role on the NBC sitcom...
; Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
; Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
; Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
; Steven Adler
Steven Adler
Steven Adler is an American musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s...
; Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
; Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...
; Travis Barker
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with...
; Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
; David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
; Audrey Tautou
Audrey Tautou
Audrey Justine Tautou is a French model and film actress, best known for playing the title character in the award-winning 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Sophie Neveu in the 2006 thriller The Da Vinci Code, Irène in Priceless and Coco Chanel in Coco avant Chanel...
; Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
; Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
; Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
; Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...
; Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
; Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese is an American burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author and actress.-Early life:...
; David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
; Otto von Schirach
Otto von Schirach
Otto von Schirach is an IDM and breakcore artist from Miami, Florida. He is of Cuban/German descent.He has released most of his work on the Schematic and Beta Bodega labels, and was featured in the 2002 documentary Electro-Dziska....
; Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
; Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen Vasquez , also known as Chancre Scolex or simply Mr. Scolex, is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and music video director...
; Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
; Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
; Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
; Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
; Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
; Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
; Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
; Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...
; Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
; Del James
Del James
Del James, is an American musician, writer, journalist and artist best known for writing the short story that reportedly inspired the "November Rain" video by hard rock band Guns N' Roses...
; Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley is an American pornographic actress, pornographic film director, sex educator, feminist, and author.-Early life:...
; and David Belle
David Belle
David Belle is well known as the founder of Parkour. Belle founded Parkour based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. The discipline has since spread around the world and now has adherents in virtually every country...
.
SG also produces a weekly radio show on Indie 103.1 FM
KDLD
KDLD is a commercial radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles area on 103.1 FM. KDLE is a commercial radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1 FM....
in Los Angeles, broadcasting Sunday nights from 10pm to 12 am PST. The show has been on air for 6 years and Indie 103.1 was named the "Best Radio Station 2008" by Rolling Stone Magazine. On the show, Suicide Girls take phone calls, give advice, discuss current events and play music. Past phone-in and in-person guests on the show included Maynard James Keenan, Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...
, Dave Navarro, Tom Green
Tom Green
Michael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
, the Melvins, Rob Corddry, Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
and more. Past Radio Show guest interviews can be downloaded as podcasts from the website. Indie 103.1 is no longer broadcasting on air and is now a streaming-media station online.
Other celebrity members include:
- Scott IanScott IanScott Ian Rosenfeld , better known by the stage name Scott Ian, is an American musician, best known as the rhythm & lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Anthrax. Ian is also the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death...
, Rhythm guitarist for AnthraxAnthrax (band)Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
. - Anthony Zuiker, CSI creator who included them in an episode ("Oedipus Hex") of CSI: NYCSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
that he wrote. - Zia McCabeZia McCabeZia McCabe is a percussionist, bass guitarist, and keyboard player. She is a member of American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. She graduated from Battle Ground High School in Battle Ground, Washington in 1992. In 1995, with hardly any prior musical experience, Zia joined The Dandy Warhols...
, keyboardist of The Dandy WarholsThe Dandy WarholsThe Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
. Zia posed for one set for the site while heavily pregnant and this was the extent of her association / participation. Her profile remains public. - Wil WheatonWil WheatonRichard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, author and actor. - Rob CorddryRob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, former Daily Show correspondent. - R. Stevens, author of the webcomicWebcomicWebcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
Diesel SweetiesDiesel SweetiesDiesel Sweeties is a webcomic and former newspaper comic strip written by Richard Stevens III . The comic began in 2000, originally hosted at robotstories.com...
. - Hal SparksHal SparksHal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
, actor. - Steve Isaacs, former MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
VJ, singer of The Panic Channel - Dave NavarroDave NavarroDavid Michael "Dave" Navarro is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Panic Channel, and many others.- Early life :...
, guitarist, of Jane's AddictionJane's AddictionJane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
, formerly of Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, and The Panic ChannelThe Panic ChannelThe Panic Channel was an alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2004, following the third break-up of Jane's Addiction. The band consisted of former Jane's Addiction members, Dave Navarro , Stephen Perkins , and Chris Chaney , alongside Steve Isaacs... - Jonathan Kesselman, director of The Hebrew HammerThe Hebrew HammerThe Hebrew Hammer is a 2003 American film directed by Jonathan Kesselman. It stars Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, and Peter Coyote...
- Kevin James MaherKevin James MaherKevin “Kevvy Mental” Maher is a Canadian musician, film composer, remix artist and music producer, most notable for his work in Fake Shark - Real Zombie! as lead vocalist and programmer.-Early life:...
, singer of Fake Shark - Real Zombie!Fake Shark - Real Zombie!Fake Shark – Real Zombie! is a Canadian dance punk band. Formed in 2005, their musical style combines elements of IDM and post-hardcore. The name is a reference to Lucio Fulci's film Zombi 2, where a real shark and a zombie engage in combat.-History:... - Mike DoughtyMike DoughtyMike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
, singer of Soul CoughingSoul CoughingSoul Coughing was a popular New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 1990s. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult... - Chris GoreChris GoreChristopher Patrick "Chris" Gore is an acclaimed speaker and writer on the topic of independent film.Gore was born September 5, 1965 in Big Rapids, Michigan. He is the main writer and the founder of Film Threat, a project dedicated to covering independent and underground movies which he started in...
, founder of Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
Wheaton, Corddry and Isaacs are contributors to the SuicideGirls Newswire. Kesselman is a columnist.
DVD
Two DVDs have been produced under the name SuicideGirls. "SuicideGirls: The First Tour" released on August 30, 2005 by Epitaph recordsEpitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
and "SuicideGirls: The Italian Villa" released on October 24, 2006. Both were directed by Mike Marshall. The films aired on the US Cable network Showtime in regular rotations beginning in October 2005 and November 2006 respectively. "SuicideGirls: The First Tour" chronicles the lives of 10 performers on the first North American Burlesque
American burlesque
American Burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860s and evolved to feature ribald comedy and female striptease...
Tour produced by SuicideGirls, while "SuicideGirls: The Italian Villa" features interviews and photo shoots of 15 girls from European countries including, Italy, The UK, Finland, and Sweden. "SuicideGirls: Guide to Living" was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 16, 2010.
Movie
The horror film "Suicide Girls Must Die!" which was directed by Sawa Suicide was released in select theaters on March 12, 2010. The film was released as Video on DemandVideo on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
on 16 July 2010.
The Burlesque tour
The SuicideGirls have completed five North American headlining tours beginning in May 2003. They have performed at clubs such as: Emo'sEmo's
Emo's is a prominent nightclub located in Austin, Texas. Emo's got its start as a Houston punk club in 1989, with the Austin location opening in 1992. The Houston location closed its doors in September 2001....
in Austin, TX; Trocadero Theatre
Trocadero Theatre
The Trocadero Theatre, opened as the Arch Street Opera House in 1870, is a historic theater, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over the years, it has offered musical comedies, vaudeville and burlesque. Burlesque performer Mara Gaye performed at the Troc in the 1950s...
in Philadelphia, and The Empty Bottle
The Empty Bottle
The Empty Bottle is a nightclub and concert hall located at 1035 N. Western Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Located in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, this has been one of the many venues for Chicago's alternative music scene. This venue hosts a variety of forms of music, ranging from...
in Chicago. The SuicideGirls performed in the 2004 Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
, the 2004 Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in the UK, and toured Australia from April to May 2005. The SuicideGirls Live show opened for Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
on her 2004 West Coast tour. They also opened for the Guns n' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
2006 tour of the US and Canada playing stadiums of 15,000 people including the Allstate Arena
Allstate Arena
Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...
in Rosemont, IL, the Rose Garden Arena
Rose Garden Arena
Rose Garden, commonly known as the Rose Garden Arena, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is suitable for large indoor events of all sorts, including basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions...
in Portland, OR and the James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA.
A television show documenting the tour, scheduled to air on VH1, is currently in pre-production.
Books
SuicideGirls have published two books.The first book entitled "SuicideGirls" was originally published June 1, 2004. Published by Feral House
Feral House
Feral House is a book publisher owned and operated by Adam Parfrey. The publisher itself describes the books it sells as "pure information", and says the topics of the books are "forbidden"....
. It is approximately 160 pages long and contains over 200 color digital photos that originally appeared on the website. The images were photographed by Missy Suicide and feature primarily the models from the west coast of the United States. Popular SuicideGirls model "Mary" had the SG logo digitally placed on her biceps to appear tattooed on for the cover of the book. ISBN 1932595031. The book received the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Award
Independent Publisher Book Award
The Independent Publisher Book Awards , launched in 1996, are designed to bring increased recognition to titles published by independent authors and publishers...
in Erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
.
The second book, "SuicideGirls: Beauty Redefined", was originally published December 1, 2008. Published by Ammo Books. It is described as "a 396 page hardcover tribute to the stunning SuicideGirls from around the world. The images are collected by region and represent the most beautiful nude images of the SuicideGirls from the past 8 years. This massive tome comes with a discreet black cover that would look good on any coffee table." All copies sold through the SuicideGirls website come signed by Missy Suicide.
Comic Books
Devil's Due PublishingDevil's Due Publishing
Devil's Due Publishing is an independent comic book publishers in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned properties that populate its monthly comic book series and graphic novels.Though...
featured Suicide Girls in Hack/Slash
HACK/slash
Hack/Slash is an ongoing comic books series, launched from several one shots of the same name, published by Image Comics ....
: Annual Vol. 1 in 2008. IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
published a four-issue Suicide Girls mini-series in 2011.
Magazines
SuicideGirls has published two issues of its magazine.The first, entitled "SuicideGirls: Papercuts", was published in March, 2007. The magazine is 72 pages long and contains collage-style images of models from the website, as well as 6 interviews that also originally appeared on the site:
- Rob CorddryRob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
- Irvine WelshIrvine WelshIrvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
- Eli RothEli RothEli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
- David CrossDavid CrossDavid Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
- Mister CartoonMister CartoonMark Machado, better known as Mr. Cartoon or more commonly just Cartoon, is a Mexican American tattoo artist and graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, California....
- Douglas RushkoffDouglas RushkoffDouglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
"SuicideGirls Magazine: No. 2" was published in July, 2007. This issue is 86 pages long and continues the collage-style format of the previous issue, along with interviews accompanied by illustrations of the interviewees:
- Tim Kern
- Zack SnyderZack SnyderZachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...
- Neil LaButeNeil LaButeNeil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
- Terry GilliamTerry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
- Chuck Palahnuik
- Tom TykwerTom TykwerTom Tykwer is a German film director, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing Run Lola Run , Heaven , Perfume: The Story of a Murderer , and The International ....
- Kinky FriedmanKinky FriedmanRichard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
- Larry CharlesLarry CharlesLarry Charles is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known as a staff writer for the American sitcom Seinfeld for its first 5 seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines...
- John HodgmanJohn HodgmanJohn Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
- David MametDavid MametDavid Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
- Maynard Keenan
- Zach GalifianakisZach GalifianakisZachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
The magazine published shortly after the death of SG's star interviewer, Daniel Robert Epstein, was dedicated to him in a handwritten note from Missy Suicide in the back cover of the issue. Both issues were designed and art directed by Courtney Riot.
Image removal
In September 2005, SuicideGirls announced that it had removed a large number of images from its pages, fearing scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department. The images involved depicted bondageBondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
, knives or swords, or simulated blood. The Justice Department indicated that images of that type might be the subject of obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
prosecutions, though SuicideGirls was not mentioned as a target. In January 2007, the "banned" images were made visible again.
Censorship
In 2005, a number of the paid models were reported to have resigned from the site or had their memberships revoked in connection with allegations of censorship and mistreatment of the models by the site's owners. Numerous members have reported that their journals and message board posts were removed because they criticized management. This practice of deleting either objectionable content, disagreeable content, or membership altogether is referred to by Suicide Girls staffers as "zotting".Exclusivity agreement and lawsuits
A primary issue is the SuicideGirls modeling contract, which prevents its models (including past models, for a time) from working for competing sites or agencies (specifically those dealing in nude photography or erotica). In response to this, the SuicideGirls website states that only models "who have chosen to be involved in special projects" sign an exclusivity agreement in addition to their standard modeling contract barring them working with direct competitors for a certain amount of time. However, the standard modeling agreement for SuicideGirls includes a "Non-Competition" clause, barring any model that signs it from modeling for an "SG Competitor" during the one or more years in which the model is under contract with SuicideGirls, plus an additional two years. Many models, however, have received many mainstream modeling jobs from the exposure gained through SuicideGirls.Many of the former models involved in the 2005 dispute are now involved with the competing sites GodsGirls
GodsGirls
GodsGirls is a California-based alt porn website featuring softcore nude photography and video. The website also serves as a social networking community, featuring model and user blogs, email, discussion forums, original writing, and interviews.- History:...
and Deviant Nation. Deviant Nation was sued in civil court by SuicideGirls. Gods Girls have been sued by SuicideGirls LLC for hiring models who were allegedly still under contract with SuicideGirls and for allegedly violating SuicideGirls trademarks. Several former models were also threatened with legal action. In November 2006, SuicideGirls fired one of their main photographers, Philip Warner
Philip Warner
Philip G Warner is a freelance photographer in Los Angeles, CA. His work has been published world wide and featured on Playboy.com, the E Channel, Kink Events, CSI-NY, and in galleries across the US....
, (aka Lithium Picnic), for acting as the primary photographer for the website of former SuicideGirl Apnea. The termination was followed in February 2007 by a lawsuit by SuicideGirls against Warner. According to a press release by Warner and Apnea, as of February 2007, none of SuicideGirls LLC's lawsuits or threatened actions against former models or competing sites has resulted in a victory for the plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
, however, the legal expenses in the lawsuits have been costly and time consuming for the defendants. In June 2008, Lithium Picnic and Apnea issued a press release stating "We all sat down together and worked out an agreement that is really fair to everyone... We want to make it clear that we 100% have no hostilities towards SuicideGirls in any way anymore, we all came to a really fair agreement over this dispute, and there were no bad people here, just mistakes and misunderstandings."
Controversy regarding ownership
Critics have also charged that SuicideGirls has dishonestly claimed to be a women-owned and women-operated business, when it is actually co-owned by Sean Suhl, who is listed as Company President. According to business' filing with the Oregon State government, Sean Suhl is the only authorized representative listed for the company, which makes him the exclusive legal owner of the business. The "women-owned and women-operated" statement was also repeated in the CSI: NY episode.The DVD, SuicideGirls: The First Tour, implies ownership, creation, and control by Missy Suicide. No mention of Sean Suhl appears.
Criticism by models
A number of former models accuse SuicideGirls of failing to remain true to their signature feminist-friendly marketing. Many models, initially lured by suggestions of alternative sexual expression, are now concerned by what they consider contradictions to the professed ideas of empowerment.In a feature piece released in 2005, alternative weekly publication The Boston Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
, reported on former models' dissatisfaction with company practices. Models interviewed referred to SuicideGirls president Sean Suhl as “verbally abusive” and an “active misogynist,” and described the website as a “slap in the face to feminism”.
In a transcript of a SuicideGirls hearing with rival site Godsgirls, Suhl's attorney refers to models facing inconvenience in attending a postponed audit as not "Nobel peace prize traveling women from around the world" but rather "strippers and nude models." To this he adds, "Not being prejudice. Just being honest".
Other allegations surrounding the SuicideGirls' administration have appeared in a number of established publications, including New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
and Wired magazine
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
.
According to statistics released by the website, in July 2005 one girl left, followed by 11 in August, 25 in September, and 11 in October. According to former models interviewed in a feature piece by Silicon Valley's magazine Metro Active, this was, in their opinion, due to the general homogenization of the site, "a process that alternative subcultures are unfortunately used to".
External links
- SuicideGirls.com – Official website
- MySpace – MySpace page
- Virb – SuicideGirls on Virb
- Flickr – SuicideGirls on Flickr
Critics
- SuicideGirlX (Archived at Wayback Machine)
- sgirls: ex-Suicide Girls LiveJournal community
Articles
- SuicideGirls: Press Clippings
- "AMERICAN GOtH: SuicideGirls.com Reveals More Than Skin" by Rebecca Gray, AVN Online, December 1, 2001.
- "Profit in a tangled web" by Jim Redden, Portland TribunePortland TribuneThe Portland Tribune is a free weekly newspaper published each Thursday in Portland, Oregon, United States.The Tribune is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area, and also owns and operates the talk radio station KPAM, and...
, April 2, 2002. (Archived at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - "Alt.XXX: Sub-Pop Porn", SexTVSexTVSexTV is a Canadian documentary television series which explores many issues about human sexuality. The show premiered in 1998 and spun off a television channel called SexTV: The Channel in 2001....
, November 9, 2002. (Links to RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
video) Warning: contains nudity - "Sex, Dreads, and Rock 'n' Roll" by Annie Tomlin, BitchBitch (magazine)bitch, whose tagline is feminist response to pop culture, is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon with more than 50,000 readers. bitch magazine is one branch of the reader-supported non-profit organization bitch media...
, December, 2002. - "Live Nude Punks" by Julia Gaynor, Los Angeles CityBeatLos Angeles CityBeatLos Angeles CityBeat was an alternative weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, California, debuting June 12, 2003. The publication ceased production with the March 26, 2009 issue. LA CityBeat was available every Thursday at more than 1,500 distribution locations throughout the Los Angeles area, with an...
, September 18, 2003. - "Suicide Is Painless: How Two Mainstream Dot-Com Burnouts Turned an Art Project into an Empire" by Erik McFarland, AVN Online, May 1, 2004.
- "SuicideGirls revolt" by Deirdre Fulton, Portland Phoenix, October 7, 2005.
- "Pinup or Shut Up" by José Ralat Maldonado, New York PressNew York PressNew York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, October 8, 2005. - "Obscene But Not Heard" by Peter Koht, Metroactive, January 4, 2006.
- “A Suicide Girl’s Stories at The PSFK Conference Los Angeles” by Jeff Squires, December 13, 2007
- “Suicide Girls – cultural shock from Los Angeles” by Denis Kovalev, Sgustok Magazine, September 2, 2008