So I'm doing a research paper, an "ethnography," on the subculture or the SuicideGirls.
I figured that I'd post the preliminary piece on her for fun.
I'll probably post the subsequent pieces too.
Tell me whatya think! (It's kinda long)
Statement of Intent and Taxonomy: Suicide Girls
The concept began in Portland, Oregon with Sean and Missy Suicide and the desire to crush the current social constructs of beauty (Suicide). The Punk Princesses of SuicideGirls.com (SG) decimate the mainstream ideal of the weak, depressed little girl with the strength of fists swung in a mosh pit. The Suicide girls are full of flame, flavor and fervor. They are strong, proud women, university students, artists, entrepreneurs and musicians. They refuse to fit into the collagen injected mold of the Pam Anderson model and flaunt their bodies with everything from full-arm sleeve tattoos to B-cup breast and piercings in every imaginable place. Missy Suicide describes the SG message as, Im confident, Im intelligent and I dont have a problem sharing my sexuality with the world. This is what a real body looks like, and its beautiful (Chronin 14). Along with the 1940s style pin-up photos the founders and members of the site lovingly refer to as art and entire community grows and thrives in light of a safe medium, free from persecution, filled with a sought out by like-minded individuals.
The nonconformist haven has recently become the subject of government scrutiny. On September 24, 2005 it was announced on the SG message boards that due to FBI involvement in the Bush Administrations War on Porn the site was being forced to take down certain images found by the government constructs to be obscene (Olivia). Members and models alike were outraged by what they considered the governments flagrant abuse of their First Amendment rights. Unless the true purpose of their mission is revealed these peoples freedom of expression is in serious jeopardy, along with their personal identities being silenced. With their silence will soon follow that of the masses.
Often, SG is dismissed as a taboo pornography site. The general public expects to find naked women gloried in suicidal tendencies. It is assumed that these girls are even engaged in the act itself in the photos. The public speculates these woman lack values, goals, or any sense of decency.
The Suicide Girls are not morally devoid individuals with taboo sexual proclivities; they are empowered women wishing nothing more than to display their unique individuality and empower their sexuality in an artistic medium within a society that greatly underrepresents their beauty and identity.
For better understanding of the SG culture, one needs to examine their taxonomy. The site refers to the images used as nude photos. Although both naked and nude mean without clothes it has been suggested that the term nude is more appropriate to the dignity given to a naked body as a result of its depiction as a work of art (Arts). The Dictionary of Art defines erotic art as art with a sexual content, and especially art that celebrates human sexuality (Turner 10: 472). At the other end of the spectrum, pornography is referred to as crude, unreal, brutal and ugly, as well as, abusive exploitation (Smith 31). SG is referred to directly in the Wikipedia definition of altporn, or alternaporn, as a type of pornography that features types of male and female models largely absent from traditional mainstream pornography (Altporn). Pin-up, as defined by Princetons WordNet, is a very pretty girl who works as a photographers model (Pin-up) leaving room to define beauty as one sees fit. There are an abundance of categories into which the Suicide Girls are placed. These include, but are not limited to: goth, emo, metal and indie. Most are sub-genres of punk, an ideology defined as a set of social and political beliefs, morals and standards that indicate an absolute rejection of conformity (Ideology) brought about by the anti-establishment music movement (Rock). Lastly, you cant understand the Suicide Girls without knowing about body-mods, or the tattoos and piercings that adorn them.
...because college is for losers LOL
I figured that I'd post the preliminary piece on her for fun.
I'll probably post the subsequent pieces too.
Tell me whatya think! (It's kinda long)
Statement of Intent and Taxonomy: Suicide Girls
The concept began in Portland, Oregon with Sean and Missy Suicide and the desire to crush the current social constructs of beauty (Suicide). The Punk Princesses of SuicideGirls.com (SG) decimate the mainstream ideal of the weak, depressed little girl with the strength of fists swung in a mosh pit. The Suicide girls are full of flame, flavor and fervor. They are strong, proud women, university students, artists, entrepreneurs and musicians. They refuse to fit into the collagen injected mold of the Pam Anderson model and flaunt their bodies with everything from full-arm sleeve tattoos to B-cup breast and piercings in every imaginable place. Missy Suicide describes the SG message as, Im confident, Im intelligent and I dont have a problem sharing my sexuality with the world. This is what a real body looks like, and its beautiful (Chronin 14). Along with the 1940s style pin-up photos the founders and members of the site lovingly refer to as art and entire community grows and thrives in light of a safe medium, free from persecution, filled with a sought out by like-minded individuals.
The nonconformist haven has recently become the subject of government scrutiny. On September 24, 2005 it was announced on the SG message boards that due to FBI involvement in the Bush Administrations War on Porn the site was being forced to take down certain images found by the government constructs to be obscene (Olivia). Members and models alike were outraged by what they considered the governments flagrant abuse of their First Amendment rights. Unless the true purpose of their mission is revealed these peoples freedom of expression is in serious jeopardy, along with their personal identities being silenced. With their silence will soon follow that of the masses.
Often, SG is dismissed as a taboo pornography site. The general public expects to find naked women gloried in suicidal tendencies. It is assumed that these girls are even engaged in the act itself in the photos. The public speculates these woman lack values, goals, or any sense of decency.
The Suicide Girls are not morally devoid individuals with taboo sexual proclivities; they are empowered women wishing nothing more than to display their unique individuality and empower their sexuality in an artistic medium within a society that greatly underrepresents their beauty and identity.
For better understanding of the SG culture, one needs to examine their taxonomy. The site refers to the images used as nude photos. Although both naked and nude mean without clothes it has been suggested that the term nude is more appropriate to the dignity given to a naked body as a result of its depiction as a work of art (Arts). The Dictionary of Art defines erotic art as art with a sexual content, and especially art that celebrates human sexuality (Turner 10: 472). At the other end of the spectrum, pornography is referred to as crude, unreal, brutal and ugly, as well as, abusive exploitation (Smith 31). SG is referred to directly in the Wikipedia definition of altporn, or alternaporn, as a type of pornography that features types of male and female models largely absent from traditional mainstream pornography (Altporn). Pin-up, as defined by Princetons WordNet, is a very pretty girl who works as a photographers model (Pin-up) leaving room to define beauty as one sees fit. There are an abundance of categories into which the Suicide Girls are placed. These include, but are not limited to: goth, emo, metal and indie. Most are sub-genres of punk, an ideology defined as a set of social and political beliefs, morals and standards that indicate an absolute rejection of conformity (Ideology) brought about by the anti-establishment music movement (Rock). Lastly, you cant understand the Suicide Girls without knowing about body-mods, or the tattoos and piercings that adorn them.
...because college is for losers LOL
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(Also: since web precedent is different here, you reply to posts in the respondant's journal instead of your own *so they can read it right away*)
I look forward to seeing the final paper!