Missy Suicide gets it
June 10th, 2009If you don’t know who Missy Suicide is, she’s the one who pioneered Suicide Girls, which is a website that has the classical pin-ups, except with a twist - these girls are very punk, goth, or indie.
I bought her first book yesterday, simply called Suicide Girls, and am reading it now.
“I had long thought of the Pin-Up era as something of the past, but that summer in Portland I decided I wanted to be a Pin-Up photographer anyway. Surely, with the proliferation of hardcore pornography and graphic sex all over the internet and cable, there wouldn’t be the same sort of widespread appeal for the understated beauty of the demure there once was, but so what?”
Exactly. So what? Create your own niche market and expand on that. So, a lot of folks are into hardcore porn. Let them enjoy their hardcore porn and do your own thing, something that you find enjoyable.
I’ve been burned out on hardcore porn for years now. I no longer own a single magazine and have a whopping zero hardcore porn files on my computer. Not that I’m against hardcore porn, I’m just sick of it. It does nothing for me. The actors look like they’re going through the motions and it’s not at all exciting. It looks so, well, fake.
“I had done jobs to make money and they hadn’t made me happy; this time I would start with a job that would fulfill me artistically and I’d worry about the making a living part later.”
Bingo. No matter what religion (including Atheist) you are, you get one and only one shot of being you. If you believe in reincarnation, you’re no longer you. You’re someone else. So in this life, you’re you, and this is you’re only shot at it.
I strongly believe that doing what you like doing is more important than money. Funny hearing that from a rabid Right-winger, but I strongly believe that.
Money will come. I make money at jobs and investments and I learned to make it work. But if you’re not doing what you love doing at least part time, you will have a sick, empty feeling and your life will not be complete.
Trust me on this one. Don’t get into something you hate because your parents want you to do it, or society expects you to do it. Do it out of love, or at least do that job you hate, leave it at work, and do what you really love part time until you make enough money doing what you love that you can tell them where they can stick that job you hate.
“If I was going to present images of female beauty, it would be my personal vision of femininity.”
Awesome and thank you. I get sick of Playboy with their fake blonde hair, their fake big boobs, and the heavy airbrushing. It doesn’t do it for me. For the record, if I were single, I couldn’t fuck a fake blonde with fake boobs and a fake tan and a 90 IQ. I couldn’t do it.
There is something intriguing about the Suicide Girls. When I was in high school, I had a thing for the nerdy girl two seats behind me in my English class. She had an IQ within 20 points of mine (which means she was pretty fucking smart), but she wore glasses and she wasn’t exactly popular. So because I was being a dumbass, I never asked her out.
She wrote her own poetry and listened to Post-Punk music. Not my thing, but I’ve always preferred anything out of the ordinary to the mindless corporate crap that they shove down our throats on the top 40 stations across the country.
That’s the type of girl who would have ended up in a Suicide Girls calendar. Dang it. I’d like to go back in time and slap that 16-year-old Zombieslayer across his head. Screw popularity ratings. This girl had it.
As do a lot of the Suicide Girls.
Missy, I’ll be buying the rest of your books shortly. Still got to finish reading this one.
Love Suicide Girls, I discovered it about 5 years ago and even did some photography for a friend who was accepted to the site.. I am considering joining it myself once the body art is finished… a bombshell with tattoos and piercings, now thats a hot pin-up.
Clothosfate - You have the pinup shape, that’s fo shizzle. If you get a chance, check out Gil Elvgren. He’s one of the top of the “classic pinup” American artists. I’m sure Missy was influenced by his work, and especially by as she mentioned, Bettie Page. I love Page. I love everything about her.
That’s so cool you shot for someone who got accepted. I’m not a paying member yet. Buying the books first. This first one is actually a good read. I like text combined with pictures, and am probably one of the few guys who reads these things cover to cover.
Great post, Zombieman! I too love SG, but when I first heard about them the hype was that they weren’t what people would think was typical female beauty. I didn’t see the difference - sure SG have tats and piercings, but they’re still mostly what I would consider really hot girls, nothing freaky. I think that’s because I’m a goth/punk myself, so those are the kind of people I know, hang out with, go to concerts with, have as girlfriends, see in the movies I watch, etc. I for one don’t find the usual Playbore stuff erotic in the slightest, but have always preferred the fetish goth/punk look. So to me SG was just regular hot naked (sort of) girls, not the “natural regular woman” stuff that they purported to be (which they claimed was non-typical female beauty). I was expecting stretch marks and missing breasts due to surgery and what not, maybe a missing limb or three. As it is SG is actually pretty basic softcore porn, just with tattooed girls (of which there are many in hardcore porn too) with piercings, so I don’t think they really delivered on what they promoted their niche to be. Still, it’s somewhat nice, albeit tame.
Badman - Hmm…
I think I’ll pass on what you thought it would be.
Yes. They’re the kind of girls I hang with as well, but then again, we hang out together sometimes so “no duh.”
Before SG though, there was a demand as you have clearly shown, but no supply. SG filled that niche and filled it well. SG’s photographers are quite good. They create pictures without being too artsy fartsy, and they do look like the old classic pinups except with tattoos and piercings.
So for you and me, no, nothing unusual. But keep in mind, neither of us are mainstream in our tastes. We both hate pop music with a passion, hate American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the rest of that mindless drivel corporate America passes off as entertainment.
Same thing with as you call it Playbore. My God. I saw a photo shoot where they had over a dozen of these models lined up and all but one had fake boobs and half of them had fake blonde hair. If anything, that crap should be a niche market. But I guess the average American is devoid of taste.
As for tame, yes, SG is quite tame.
You’re right about that - American’s as a whole are devoid of taste. Every time I see a movie with the Playboy Mansion and Hugh and the sort of women he surrounds himself with - which most every American guy thinks are so incredibly hot - I grimace. Like the scenes from that Anna Faris movie “The House Bunny” - those real Playboy girls are DISGUSTING!
Which is the point, true of most Ms. Faris’ films, to mock what they parody. I was surprised Hugh didn’t understand that when he gave permission to director Fred Wolf, who successfully and wonderfully made Hugh look the fool that he is. Hugh, as is the case with most American beer drinking Nascar watching dolts, just doesn’t get it.
Just my two expatriate americano centavos.
As bad as Hugh’s current taste is, I am thankful that he was one of the top ten people who got sexuality in this country out of the Dark Ages. So I do give him props, but it’s for his past work, not for his present garbage.
No argument though about the rest. As much as I love America, when it comes to our music and pop art, it’s awful.
Hey there. Not that I look at any porn but I have to admit to those that do I hope that you get your fill from this.. LOL…
*sigh*. It’s all the same crap, tattooed and posed differently.
Something triggered in me, i think after having two girls. I do not see art and feminine beauty in these picures. not at all.
I’m sorry, but what in the name ‘Suicide Girls’ girls the impression that you are going to find a bunch of pictures of ‘feminine beauty’? There is definitly art, but I am pretty sure they are not aiming for making their daddy’s proud.
It’s softcore porn of punk/goth girls. Just my opinion.
I’m sorry, but what in the name ‘Suicide Girls’ gives the impression that you are going to find a bunch of pictures of ‘feminine beauty’? There is definitly art, but I am pretty sure they are not aiming for making their daddy’s proud.
It’s softcore porn of punk/goth girls. Just my opinion.
sorry for the double
“Suicide Girls” doesn’t exactly conjure up images of sexiness. There’s nothing wrong with going against the mainstream, but tattoos and piercings are the mainstream now, so these girls aren’t “different,” and I’ve seen plenty of hotter, natural girls. A good body doesn’t need to be decorated; it stands out on its own. Skin is sexy; ink isn’t.
I actually think it’s cool how we all disagree on what’s sexy and what’s not. Goes to show that variation is a GOOD thing. What is sexy to one is not sexy to others.
This is me and piercings…
I like belly button piercings, side nose piercings, a lip piercing if it’s on one side but not the middle and not both, and an eyebrow piercing can be sexy. Of course, I like earrings.
I don’t like middle nose piercings or nipple piercings. I don’t like that piercing right under the middle of the lip.
That’s just me though. To each their own.
As for me and tattoos - totally depends on the woman. I like ink on some women, hate it on others. Totally depends. Plus, if I don’t like a tattoo, it’s a huge turn off. But if I like a tattoo, then it’s a turn on.
So I think it’s great there is variety.
I think SG does a great job with its niche. They realized there is a niche market, and they expanded on it. These girls are neat. I like reading what they have to say. Sure, I don’t agree with a lot of them. As a Right-winger, the majority are Left/Liberal. But you know what? More power to them. I don’t expect the world to agree with me.
What may surprise Missy is that I’d call her a damn good capitalist. She saw the opportunity and she went full throttle, took the bull by the horns, and now is making enough money that she is well-off and actually pays her SGs very well, from what I heard.
So hats off to Missy Suicide.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Suicide Girls. On the one hand, I love that these women are in near total control of what they’re doing - unlike a lot of the sex industry. Women actually seek to be a part of this team. I also do like that there are very pretty, but ‘normal’ women featured - they’re not all airbrushed, boob-jobbed, and blonde.
However, they *are* still succumbing to the male-centric commodification of women’s bodies where women are the objects used by men for pleasure. They’re still primped and primed based on typical ideas of beauty (and, they’re almost ALL white).
I actually prefer the revival of burlesque to this “alternative” pornography.
Laura - The thing is though, I believe in choices. Choices for men. Choices for women. The more choices you have in life, the better.
I’m pretty close to an Anarchist as I believe people should do anything they want.
There are women out there who get emotional/sexual satisfaction being commodified. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. If they want to do it, more power to them.
I’m not at all an exhibitionist, but from what I’ve read about exhibitionism, it’s a rush. It’s a great feeling. And just as good of that feeling of exposure is to get positive feedback about it.
As for burlesque, yes, I too like burlesque. We have supposedly a really good burlesque troop in SF that performs at a club I frequent but it’s during the week so I’ve yet to hit it. I should, and write a review about it.
And I’d bet that girl would love to slap you for not asking her out, as well…coming from a nerdy girl in glasses who didn’t have a single date in high school (save one set up by my father - oy vey).
Kathleen - I bet today she’s still cute, in good physical shape, and is probably both successful and happy. That 16 year old me was stupid. But that’s what happens when teenagers get caught up in popularity contests.
Funny thing, I’ve seen some of the “popular” kids in HS since then and they’ve peaked. Very badly. Very, very badly. You don’t want to peak too soon.
If your best days were HS, you live a sad life.
I’ve had so much more fun in college, and surprisingly much more fun in my working days because I was able to afford anything I wanted, and if anyone says money can’t buy happiness, they’re idiots. Money is fun, as long as you have your health of course but that’s a given. Health is always #1.