OH GOD! MORE! MORE! MORE!
Methods
Respondents
Surveys were emailed to a total of 404 models of the SuicideGirls. Responses were received from 78 of them, approximately 19% of those contacted. Respondents ranged in age from 19-32 years of age, the mean age being 22.5 years. Most were located within the United States with clusters in California and New York. Similarly high responses were received from the United Kingdom (15%) and Canada (10%). Responses also came from several other countries including France, Italy, Austria, Burundi, Sweden, Uruguay, Finland and Germany. Most respondents (84%) were Caucasian, leaving 9% Hispanic, 2% Asian and 1% African American.
Measures
In order to procure a general idea of the underlying mentalities of the SuicideGirls and their personal views of the SuicideGirls Website, a survey entitled SG Subculture, was constructed. It was comprised of 2 sections containing 12 likert scale and 6 open-ended questions. These were dispersed amongst the 404 selected SuicideGirls. The following is an evaluation of each of the aforementioned questions.
Likert Scale questions 1 and 2 are both intended to convey the level of the SuicideGirls creativity and dedication, attributes integral to the cultivation of art. Question 3 was asked in order to uncover possible nihilism amongst them, a common misconception. Question 4 is intended to establish the importance of art to the participants. Question 5 is meant to delve into ideals of feminism or general respect for women, topics generally held in high regard by the website. Questions 7 and 8 deal with issues of self-expression and its importance in order to assess its possible correlation with tattooing and body piercing. Question 9 relates to the political ideals held on censorship, a current problem on the website. Question 10 is meant to evaluate where the participants stand on education, as well as how educated they are themselves. This is a very important component in refuting the idea Dworkin introduced that sex workers are often uneducated. Questions 6, 11 and 12 also relate to the self-esteem of the participants while seeking signs of depression, as this misconception stems from the word suicide in the websites name.
These 12 were followed by 6 open-ended questions. Question 1 is attempting to discover whether or not the SuicideGirls initially had a misconception of the site or if they were immediately attracted to the idea. Question 2 seeks to establish an integral component in the participants evaluation of the site, that being whether or not the experience was positive. Question 3 is meant to give a general idea of what features of the site are most frequently used by the participants. Question 4 is also a pivotal question asking the girls if they can classify the photos on the website as photography or pornography. Question 5 is an attempt to discover whether the participants have similar views of beauty or attraction as are displayed on the website. Question 6 attempts to give a clearer image of how the participants view themselves and their work on the website by way of their views on their photosets.
Procedure
Initially, Lauren Clark, Press Executive, was contacted for approval of the project from the SuicideGirls Website. The girls surveyed were chosen in alphabetical order starting from both ends of the alphabet. This list includes girls with names starting with the letters A-J and S-Z. Emails containing a short explanation of who I was and the project, the survey, and directions were sent via the SuicideGirls contact system. Each SuicideGirl has her own page with an email link below her picture. Everybody was individually mailed and all but one respondent was excited to take part in the research. The odd respondent declined the survey saying, I know too much about the background of this company to feel comfortable about condoning the creation of a paper that glorifies it as an empowering subculture.
The inclusion of SuicideGirls A-Z would provide more extensive data. As they are often help under misrepresentation, some girls are weary of participating in any studies, and were willing to clarify immediately that they did not feel they could be entirely open and truthful in response to all of my questions.
The strongest majority (96%) viewed self-expression of great importance. A much slighter majority (76%) felt they expressed themselves differently from others. That which was of second highest priority to respondents (95%) was education. Another majority (94%) claimed they were often engaged in a project, while a lower majority (77%) expressed the ability to follow their goals through. The same majority (94%) of those who made the above claim, agreed they had strong beliefs. Art is shown to be an important factor in their lives (92%), as well as womens rights (90%). Those questions referencing their self esteem generated very similar numbers. A slighter majority than those mentioned above claimed to be proud of their bodies (78%), feel they were an important person (78%), and feel everyday was worth living (81%). Collectively, though by the smallest percentage (68%), they expressed distaste for public censorship.
The open-ended questions provided an abundance of extra information. Most respondents reacted to question 1 with great enthusiasm, displaying an immediate interest in the website. All of the 78 respondents claimed to have had an overall positive experience working on the SuicideGirls website. Question 3 discovered almost half (45%) of the models most often used their personal journals on the site. Close behind, 35% used the pictures most frequently. Those remaining (20%) most often cited the use of the sites message boards and groups. When asked in question 4 of their perceptions of their own photosets, 35% viewed them as artistic photography, only 15% cited them as pornography, and 30% claimed they considered them to fall under both categories. Alternatively, 3 respondents referred to their photosets directly as erotic art. Responses to question 5 most often included personality traits in the description. Lastly, question 6 received a wide array of answers, with a few repeated words, such as warm and comfortable.
Discussion
With regards to the preceding statistical results, it would be appropriate to conclude that the women engaged in the photographic activities of the SuicideGirls are, in fact, representations of their personal concepts of sexuality, femininity, and beauty. Most responses were in accordance with those that were initially believed would be the answers. All but one of the Likert scale questions, that being the question of public censorship, were intended to evoke a strong agreement in the models. Few fell below 80% in their agreement.
Self-expression, referenced as an integral component in those participating in the acts of body piercing and tattooing (Atkinson, 2003, Cahill & Riley, 2005, Caliendo, 2005, Hancock, 2005, Lloyd, 2003, & Suicide, 2004), received the highest level of agreement. This direct correlation fits perfectly amongst those views currently studied within the body-modification subculture. The smaller percentage of those feeling they expressed themselves differently may be attributed to the large level of acceptance of their proclivities on the SuicideGirls website. As stated in their press release information, many girls get involved simply to be a part of a community of like-minded individuals (Suicide, 2005, 6).
It is of fundamental importance to note that the second most important attribute of those mentioned in the survey was that of education. One of the pillars of the Dworkin-MacKinnon anti-pornography movement is the allegation that those women involved in pornography are uneducated (Dworkin, 1993, p. 83). In actuality, a strong number of respondents were actively involved college students.
Their general participation in projects is meant to display their creativity, and their follow-through, their dedication and serious belief in these projects. Creativity and dedication are necessary for the development of any kind of art, which a strong majority also agreed was of vast importance in their lives. One would be hard-pressed to claim that the SuicideGirls photosets were representations of art if the models depicted were not firm believers its importance. The large percentage of those claiming their photosets were photography, or erotic art, further attests to this position. It is of particular interest that some respondents chose the title of erotic art without any previous mention of this category. It may even be further concluded that the recognition of erotic art in their work is a result of their education. The smaller majority expressing an ability to reach their goals can very easily be attributed to any number of third variables.
Strong beliefs were also revealed among the women, showing that they do not have a nihilistic view of their world, but are eager participants in those causes about which they feel strongly. One of these causes is that of womens rights, which was also highly rated amongst the asked questions. The Dwokin-MacKinnon faction often claims pornography is exploitative to women and destructive to the feminist cause (Dworkin, 1972). The displayed interest in womens rights combined with the necessity of self-expression would lead one to assess the actions of the SuicideGirls as feminine sexual expression.
Those questions regarding self-esteem generated slightly smaller majorities. This generates questions of the correlation between mental illness and pornography, or body modification. Further literary and scientific research on these possible relations may be necessary to truly assess the facts behind the numbers. However, the majority remains proud of their bodies, feel they are important, and believe everyday is worth living. It must also be taken into consideration that the majority remaining percentage of respondents answering questions 8, 11, and 12 did not disagree. Between 13% and 20% were answered No Opinion. Only between 3% and 7% actually disagree. This conclusively disavows the allegation that the SucideGirls are, in fact, suicidal. This goes without saying that within any culture there may be the presence of mental illness, or general deviation from any societal norm.
The question of censorship may come under a fair amount of dispute amongst both the girls and society. The smallest of the majority disagreed that censorship was important to protect the community. This may be due to complication in the structure of the statement, due to the fact that some of the respondents explained that they were not fully sure what was meant. It was also the only one of the statements initially hypothesized to be disagreed with. It went against the pattern of all the others in its category and generated a mild degree of confusion. Many (15%) responded with No Opinion. Only 13% agreed with censorship.
Astonishingly, every respondent reported having had an overall positive experience with the SuicideGirls website. Many cited the different opportunities they had encountered as a result of their involvement. A variety of other praises were dispensed, though there were mentions of discrepancies with management. This statement makes clear the negative impact on the women of pornography is a contradiction. Most of the women did not suggest they harbored any of these misconceptions when they first approached the site. Most expressed enthusiasm and desire to partake in the activities.
Of these activities, it was the personal journals, or web logs, of the models that they claimed they most often used. This placed the photosets at a close second, with an even closer number of women utilizing the message boards and groups. The priorities of the girls seem much more social than sexually visual. The website functions as an online community, much like those of My Space or Friendster.
When asked to describe their impression of the ideal girl, most of the responses included personality traits. Many of the women stated that they would just like her to be herself. There were, of course, frequent mentions of tattoos and piercings, but overall there was little emphasis on appearance.
In describing their photosets, the women used a myriad of adjectives ranging from hot to cold. The words comfortable and warm were the only ones repeated. Expressing feelings of comfort and warmth in their photosets is a display of their volition, as well as the reflection of those positive aspects in their modeling. One response, forced, had any connotation of violence or unwillingness, and this respondent merely noted that she didnt feel the images represented her well. Other terms included, but are not limited to, lighthearted, elegant, and honest.
As was stated initially, few of those researching the benefits or detriments of pornography assess the feelings of those working within the industry. The claims of the Dworkin-MacKinnon anti-pornography faction that women working in pornography are uneducated, disempowered, and, in all forms of pornography, forced into what they are doing (Dworkin, 1972) are all refuted in this study. Already, legislation pushed by this faction has taken effect on the website, censoring some of the photosets that are posted. Strossen (1995) claims that freedom of sexual expression is critical to the womens rights movement (p. 30). Censorship, throughout history, has too often been used to silence those who are relatively disempowered and who seek to challenge the status quo (p. 31). Falling easily into both these categories are women.
Within the argument advocating the work of the SuicideGirls brings about a plethora of additional questions to be posed, as in the possible correlation between body modification or pornography, and mental illness or low self-esteem. The involvement of all the SuicideGirls would provide more concrete statistics. It would also be advisable to attempt contact with them under more intimate circumstances than the internet. Only one SuicideGirl was consulted in person for the creation of this study.
I must also admit to my own pro-pornography sentiment, as well as feminist views that I harbor. I both approached these women with respect and believe their work to be a form of erotic art. The interpretation of their work often has its basis within its interpreter, and those that might use this art for pornography may make it so, however, the SuicideGirls as well as I, as a website member, participate more for the community than for sexual excitement.
Methods
Respondents
Surveys were emailed to a total of 404 models of the SuicideGirls. Responses were received from 78 of them, approximately 19% of those contacted. Respondents ranged in age from 19-32 years of age, the mean age being 22.5 years. Most were located within the United States with clusters in California and New York. Similarly high responses were received from the United Kingdom (15%) and Canada (10%). Responses also came from several other countries including France, Italy, Austria, Burundi, Sweden, Uruguay, Finland and Germany. Most respondents (84%) were Caucasian, leaving 9% Hispanic, 2% Asian and 1% African American.
Measures
In order to procure a general idea of the underlying mentalities of the SuicideGirls and their personal views of the SuicideGirls Website, a survey entitled SG Subculture, was constructed. It was comprised of 2 sections containing 12 likert scale and 6 open-ended questions. These were dispersed amongst the 404 selected SuicideGirls. The following is an evaluation of each of the aforementioned questions.
Likert Scale questions 1 and 2 are both intended to convey the level of the SuicideGirls creativity and dedication, attributes integral to the cultivation of art. Question 3 was asked in order to uncover possible nihilism amongst them, a common misconception. Question 4 is intended to establish the importance of art to the participants. Question 5 is meant to delve into ideals of feminism or general respect for women, topics generally held in high regard by the website. Questions 7 and 8 deal with issues of self-expression and its importance in order to assess its possible correlation with tattooing and body piercing. Question 9 relates to the political ideals held on censorship, a current problem on the website. Question 10 is meant to evaluate where the participants stand on education, as well as how educated they are themselves. This is a very important component in refuting the idea Dworkin introduced that sex workers are often uneducated. Questions 6, 11 and 12 also relate to the self-esteem of the participants while seeking signs of depression, as this misconception stems from the word suicide in the websites name.
These 12 were followed by 6 open-ended questions. Question 1 is attempting to discover whether or not the SuicideGirls initially had a misconception of the site or if they were immediately attracted to the idea. Question 2 seeks to establish an integral component in the participants evaluation of the site, that being whether or not the experience was positive. Question 3 is meant to give a general idea of what features of the site are most frequently used by the participants. Question 4 is also a pivotal question asking the girls if they can classify the photos on the website as photography or pornography. Question 5 is an attempt to discover whether the participants have similar views of beauty or attraction as are displayed on the website. Question 6 attempts to give a clearer image of how the participants view themselves and their work on the website by way of their views on their photosets.
Procedure
Initially, Lauren Clark, Press Executive, was contacted for approval of the project from the SuicideGirls Website. The girls surveyed were chosen in alphabetical order starting from both ends of the alphabet. This list includes girls with names starting with the letters A-J and S-Z. Emails containing a short explanation of who I was and the project, the survey, and directions were sent via the SuicideGirls contact system. Each SuicideGirl has her own page with an email link below her picture. Everybody was individually mailed and all but one respondent was excited to take part in the research. The odd respondent declined the survey saying, I know too much about the background of this company to feel comfortable about condoning the creation of a paper that glorifies it as an empowering subculture.
The inclusion of SuicideGirls A-Z would provide more extensive data. As they are often help under misrepresentation, some girls are weary of participating in any studies, and were willing to clarify immediately that they did not feel they could be entirely open and truthful in response to all of my questions.
The strongest majority (96%) viewed self-expression of great importance. A much slighter majority (76%) felt they expressed themselves differently from others. That which was of second highest priority to respondents (95%) was education. Another majority (94%) claimed they were often engaged in a project, while a lower majority (77%) expressed the ability to follow their goals through. The same majority (94%) of those who made the above claim, agreed they had strong beliefs. Art is shown to be an important factor in their lives (92%), as well as womens rights (90%). Those questions referencing their self esteem generated very similar numbers. A slighter majority than those mentioned above claimed to be proud of their bodies (78%), feel they were an important person (78%), and feel everyday was worth living (81%). Collectively, though by the smallest percentage (68%), they expressed distaste for public censorship.
The open-ended questions provided an abundance of extra information. Most respondents reacted to question 1 with great enthusiasm, displaying an immediate interest in the website. All of the 78 respondents claimed to have had an overall positive experience working on the SuicideGirls website. Question 3 discovered almost half (45%) of the models most often used their personal journals on the site. Close behind, 35% used the pictures most frequently. Those remaining (20%) most often cited the use of the sites message boards and groups. When asked in question 4 of their perceptions of their own photosets, 35% viewed them as artistic photography, only 15% cited them as pornography, and 30% claimed they considered them to fall under both categories. Alternatively, 3 respondents referred to their photosets directly as erotic art. Responses to question 5 most often included personality traits in the description. Lastly, question 6 received a wide array of answers, with a few repeated words, such as warm and comfortable.
Discussion
With regards to the preceding statistical results, it would be appropriate to conclude that the women engaged in the photographic activities of the SuicideGirls are, in fact, representations of their personal concepts of sexuality, femininity, and beauty. Most responses were in accordance with those that were initially believed would be the answers. All but one of the Likert scale questions, that being the question of public censorship, were intended to evoke a strong agreement in the models. Few fell below 80% in their agreement.
Self-expression, referenced as an integral component in those participating in the acts of body piercing and tattooing (Atkinson, 2003, Cahill & Riley, 2005, Caliendo, 2005, Hancock, 2005, Lloyd, 2003, & Suicide, 2004), received the highest level of agreement. This direct correlation fits perfectly amongst those views currently studied within the body-modification subculture. The smaller percentage of those feeling they expressed themselves differently may be attributed to the large level of acceptance of their proclivities on the SuicideGirls website. As stated in their press release information, many girls get involved simply to be a part of a community of like-minded individuals (Suicide, 2005, 6).
It is of fundamental importance to note that the second most important attribute of those mentioned in the survey was that of education. One of the pillars of the Dworkin-MacKinnon anti-pornography movement is the allegation that those women involved in pornography are uneducated (Dworkin, 1993, p. 83). In actuality, a strong number of respondents were actively involved college students.
Their general participation in projects is meant to display their creativity, and their follow-through, their dedication and serious belief in these projects. Creativity and dedication are necessary for the development of any kind of art, which a strong majority also agreed was of vast importance in their lives. One would be hard-pressed to claim that the SuicideGirls photosets were representations of art if the models depicted were not firm believers its importance. The large percentage of those claiming their photosets were photography, or erotic art, further attests to this position. It is of particular interest that some respondents chose the title of erotic art without any previous mention of this category. It may even be further concluded that the recognition of erotic art in their work is a result of their education. The smaller majority expressing an ability to reach their goals can very easily be attributed to any number of third variables.
Strong beliefs were also revealed among the women, showing that they do not have a nihilistic view of their world, but are eager participants in those causes about which they feel strongly. One of these causes is that of womens rights, which was also highly rated amongst the asked questions. The Dwokin-MacKinnon faction often claims pornography is exploitative to women and destructive to the feminist cause (Dworkin, 1972). The displayed interest in womens rights combined with the necessity of self-expression would lead one to assess the actions of the SuicideGirls as feminine sexual expression.
Those questions regarding self-esteem generated slightly smaller majorities. This generates questions of the correlation between mental illness and pornography, or body modification. Further literary and scientific research on these possible relations may be necessary to truly assess the facts behind the numbers. However, the majority remains proud of their bodies, feel they are important, and believe everyday is worth living. It must also be taken into consideration that the majority remaining percentage of respondents answering questions 8, 11, and 12 did not disagree. Between 13% and 20% were answered No Opinion. Only between 3% and 7% actually disagree. This conclusively disavows the allegation that the SucideGirls are, in fact, suicidal. This goes without saying that within any culture there may be the presence of mental illness, or general deviation from any societal norm.
The question of censorship may come under a fair amount of dispute amongst both the girls and society. The smallest of the majority disagreed that censorship was important to protect the community. This may be due to complication in the structure of the statement, due to the fact that some of the respondents explained that they were not fully sure what was meant. It was also the only one of the statements initially hypothesized to be disagreed with. It went against the pattern of all the others in its category and generated a mild degree of confusion. Many (15%) responded with No Opinion. Only 13% agreed with censorship.
Astonishingly, every respondent reported having had an overall positive experience with the SuicideGirls website. Many cited the different opportunities they had encountered as a result of their involvement. A variety of other praises were dispensed, though there were mentions of discrepancies with management. This statement makes clear the negative impact on the women of pornography is a contradiction. Most of the women did not suggest they harbored any of these misconceptions when they first approached the site. Most expressed enthusiasm and desire to partake in the activities.
Of these activities, it was the personal journals, or web logs, of the models that they claimed they most often used. This placed the photosets at a close second, with an even closer number of women utilizing the message boards and groups. The priorities of the girls seem much more social than sexually visual. The website functions as an online community, much like those of My Space or Friendster.
When asked to describe their impression of the ideal girl, most of the responses included personality traits. Many of the women stated that they would just like her to be herself. There were, of course, frequent mentions of tattoos and piercings, but overall there was little emphasis on appearance.
In describing their photosets, the women used a myriad of adjectives ranging from hot to cold. The words comfortable and warm were the only ones repeated. Expressing feelings of comfort and warmth in their photosets is a display of their volition, as well as the reflection of those positive aspects in their modeling. One response, forced, had any connotation of violence or unwillingness, and this respondent merely noted that she didnt feel the images represented her well. Other terms included, but are not limited to, lighthearted, elegant, and honest.
As was stated initially, few of those researching the benefits or detriments of pornography assess the feelings of those working within the industry. The claims of the Dworkin-MacKinnon anti-pornography faction that women working in pornography are uneducated, disempowered, and, in all forms of pornography, forced into what they are doing (Dworkin, 1972) are all refuted in this study. Already, legislation pushed by this faction has taken effect on the website, censoring some of the photosets that are posted. Strossen (1995) claims that freedom of sexual expression is critical to the womens rights movement (p. 30). Censorship, throughout history, has too often been used to silence those who are relatively disempowered and who seek to challenge the status quo (p. 31). Falling easily into both these categories are women.
Within the argument advocating the work of the SuicideGirls brings about a plethora of additional questions to be posed, as in the possible correlation between body modification or pornography, and mental illness or low self-esteem. The involvement of all the SuicideGirls would provide more concrete statistics. It would also be advisable to attempt contact with them under more intimate circumstances than the internet. Only one SuicideGirl was consulted in person for the creation of this study.
I must also admit to my own pro-pornography sentiment, as well as feminist views that I harbor. I both approached these women with respect and believe their work to be a form of erotic art. The interpretation of their work often has its basis within its interpreter, and those that might use this art for pornography may make it so, however, the SuicideGirls as well as I, as a website member, participate more for the community than for sexual excitement.
tempest:
Happy Birthday Sexy
propernoun: