SuicideGirls

About

SuicideGirls is an alternative softcore pornography site owned by SG Services, Inc. and based out of Los Angeles, California. The site is notable for its large collection and distinctive style of models and photosets, and is one of the largest alternative softcore pornography sites on the Internet.

History

SuicideGirls was launched on September 3, 2001 by Sean “Sean” Suhl and Selena “Missy Suicide” Mooney. The site was originally based in Portland, Oregon until it relocated to Los Angeles in 2003. The name “SuicideGirls” is derived from a line from the line from the novel Survivor by author Chuck Palahniuk. The site has expanded its business into DVDs, books, comics, magazines, and burlesque tours.^[1]

Features

SuicideGirl’s most notable feature are its photosets of erotic or pornographic photographs, which are regularly added to the site; the site highlights various sets as Sets of the Day. The site hosts over 6.7 million images and features over 2,700 individual models, who are dubbed “SuicideGirls”, as of June 2015.^[2] The site advertises the uniqueness of its models, who often feature tattoos, piercings, goth or punk styles and other ideas that the site curators see as an alternative to the beauty standards endemic to the traditional porn industry.

A typical Suicide Girl, with tattoos and piercings.

Models may submit applications to the site, and are nominated by site users to become official SuicideGirls. There, they are matched with photographers who create the photosets. Besides photosets, the site also notable hosts various interviews and blogs featuring celebrities and notable figures of alternative culture.

Controversies

Feminist and Woman-Owned Claims

Although the site has often advertised that it is woman-owned and -operated, including when it was featured in an episode of the show CSI:NY, it is actually run by a man, President Sean Suhl. In 2005, 40 models walked off of the site in protest of Suhl’s management style and the fact that the site “lures women in with a marketing scheme that purports feminism, when in actuality the sole owner of the company is an active misogynist.”^[5]

Exclusivity Clause

SuicideGirls has brought legal action to several other alt porn websites, such as GodsGirls and Deviant Nation, as well as with former models and photographers. This mostly stems from their exclusivity clause, which states that models may not be employed by competitors while working for the site as well for some time after leaving the site.

Richard Prince’s Instagram Art Show

Richard Prince’s Instagram Art Show was a controversial art show by the American artist Richard Prince. SuicideGirls, which had one of their posts exhibited at the show, sold prints of said post for .001% of the art’s purported price.

Traffic

SuicideGirls.com has an Alexa rating of 11,952 globally and 4,217 in the United States. The site’s Instagram account has over 3.4 million followers.^[3][4]

Search Interest

References