So my account was due to renew last Sunday, and I had clicked cancel, and was all ready to end it, and then I was like, well, I ought to give this new format a chance, bla bla bla. Now I'm regretting it. But here's the thing - my reasons for not really wanting to be a member of SG have nothing to do with the new format, or with any of the convenient pre-packaged reasons they offer when you attempt to cancel your membership. It's something else entirely.
Here's the thing - I always thought of SG as being this awesome place where the point was that it was naked pictures of totally rad chicks who were all unique, fascinating individuals, with their own lives, who were modelling nude on the side because they happen to be smokin' hot. Not to mention, badass alternative tough rad chicks. And the point of the website seemed to me to be celebrating these empowered women and letting them control exactly what they wanted to show and how, and be in charge, etc. The point being, it seemed as much about the models as the members. Plus, they had journals, they participated in threads, etc. I mean, you got a sense of them as people, often as totally awesome people. Whom you also got to see naked and rub one out to. Really cool, right?
The site has grown a lot, and that's great, but it seems to have lost sight of these aims in the process. Maybe these weren't the aims at all, I dunno. But the thing is, I can't shake the nagging feeling that the site is more about taking advantage of the naivete of 18 year old girls who are way into the idea of posting naked pictures of themselves on the internet, without ever considering the implications of that decision for their future. Furthermore, not to be a dick, but a lot of these girls are a far cry from the fierce empowered alternachicks that SG used to be celebrating. I'm not saying that you have to be covered in tattoos, or have dyed hair, or lots of piercings, in order to be a badass - there are plenty of awesome suicide girls who don't - but I do think you need to be a striking, unique individual in some way. Granted, with over 1,000 girls, it's not easy to stand out, but still, plenty of new girls manage to do it. Look at Manko, for instance. I mean, there are some sets that just grab your attention, you know? And then there are an awful lot of sets that feature very pretty girls, but are just kind of boring. Or maybe I'm just not into them as much anymore, I dunno.
Basically, whereas the site, in my mind, used to be about iving these wonderful women a space to celebrate themselves, now it seems to be more about finding naive, easily influenced 18 year olds who are confident insomuch as they're happy to pose nude. The MySpace Beauty Queen bullshit really kind of drives this home to me. Not to mention that while the girls used to seem genuinely friendly towards each other, and you had this sense of actual community, now there seems to be an awful lot of drama and cat-fighting. And the fact that a whole shitload of former models have walked away is kind of telling. I mean, I don't know what drove them out, and some of it may well have been some prima-donna prissy type shit, but it's hard to believe that it was for all of them. Makes me wonder if the models are starting to feel less cared about - when that's what the site formerly used to pride itself, it seemed, on the fact that the models came first. I dunno, I guess it just bugs me.
Well, that, and the new format is really fucking annoying. Favorite friends? What is this, junior high? Can someone tell me how I can see the latest updates from my friends in one click? That feature was actually useful.
Here's the thing - I always thought of SG as being this awesome place where the point was that it was naked pictures of totally rad chicks who were all unique, fascinating individuals, with their own lives, who were modelling nude on the side because they happen to be smokin' hot. Not to mention, badass alternative tough rad chicks. And the point of the website seemed to me to be celebrating these empowered women and letting them control exactly what they wanted to show and how, and be in charge, etc. The point being, it seemed as much about the models as the members. Plus, they had journals, they participated in threads, etc. I mean, you got a sense of them as people, often as totally awesome people. Whom you also got to see naked and rub one out to. Really cool, right?
The site has grown a lot, and that's great, but it seems to have lost sight of these aims in the process. Maybe these weren't the aims at all, I dunno. But the thing is, I can't shake the nagging feeling that the site is more about taking advantage of the naivete of 18 year old girls who are way into the idea of posting naked pictures of themselves on the internet, without ever considering the implications of that decision for their future. Furthermore, not to be a dick, but a lot of these girls are a far cry from the fierce empowered alternachicks that SG used to be celebrating. I'm not saying that you have to be covered in tattoos, or have dyed hair, or lots of piercings, in order to be a badass - there are plenty of awesome suicide girls who don't - but I do think you need to be a striking, unique individual in some way. Granted, with over 1,000 girls, it's not easy to stand out, but still, plenty of new girls manage to do it. Look at Manko, for instance. I mean, there are some sets that just grab your attention, you know? And then there are an awful lot of sets that feature very pretty girls, but are just kind of boring. Or maybe I'm just not into them as much anymore, I dunno.
Basically, whereas the site, in my mind, used to be about iving these wonderful women a space to celebrate themselves, now it seems to be more about finding naive, easily influenced 18 year olds who are confident insomuch as they're happy to pose nude. The MySpace Beauty Queen bullshit really kind of drives this home to me. Not to mention that while the girls used to seem genuinely friendly towards each other, and you had this sense of actual community, now there seems to be an awful lot of drama and cat-fighting. And the fact that a whole shitload of former models have walked away is kind of telling. I mean, I don't know what drove them out, and some of it may well have been some prima-donna prissy type shit, but it's hard to believe that it was for all of them. Makes me wonder if the models are starting to feel less cared about - when that's what the site formerly used to pride itself, it seemed, on the fact that the models came first. I dunno, I guess it just bugs me.
Well, that, and the new format is really fucking annoying. Favorite friends? What is this, junior high? Can someone tell me how I can see the latest updates from my friends in one click? That feature was actually useful.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
menotyou:
I know exactly what you mean. I find it harder to walk away than ever before however. Houston has never had an SG community before, but just recently several members have started hanging out. It seems like everytime we have an event more members show up and stick around. The community was one of the main reasons I joined the site to begin with and it's nice to finally see the community grow. I share all your feelings, but to me the site is less about the girls than the interesting members. I honestly can't remember the last time I even looked at one of the sets. I lost interest in that part of the site a very long time ago.
be_elzebe:
I don't know if your panties are still in a bunch about the SG decline-and-fall narrative/routinization-of-charisma hooha, but Reina's last tank girl set made me squeal like a piggy. I think yours are common complaints about any organization that gets (maybe) too big for its britches. With 1,000 plus girls there's bound to be drama. Before you give up on SG for good you might want to think about the following: i) any alternative "erotic" or porn site that's not directly owned by the model/s is going to be way, way, way more degrading to women and way more interested in exploiting naive 18 year olds. ii) what suggestions would you have to bring SG back to the glory days of old (for members/models/organizers/etc.)? i miss you, t-rex.