Today we’d like to introduce you to Missy Suicide.
Missy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started SuicideGirls in 2001 as an online social network that brought together people who felt like outsiders in their real-life communities to celebrate the unique beauty of girls who chose to commit “social suicide” by choosing not to fit in.
18 years later, we are still going strong. We have a social network following of over 20 million, we get 5 million unique visitors a month and we have had seven films air on showtime, three books published, a comic book, and an internationally touring burlesque show called the blackheart burlesque. We have nearly 4,000 women from every continent including Antarctica who calls themselves SuicideGirls and hundreds of thousands of hopeful SuicideGirls.
SuicideGirls is a place where girls can express themselves, feel comfortable being uniquely themselves and being beautiful, and embrace their bodies because the definition of beauty is so limited. I saw all these beautiful women around me, and none of them were reflected anywhere in society. I wanted to give them a place where they could shine, where they could be themselves, where they could be appreciated for their own beauty and uniqueness.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been a ton of obstacles and struggles over the course of the past 18 years. Initially, no one believed that people would share their thoughts and feelings online, it was pre-social network days when people believed that the internet was full of murderers and perverts and sharing anything personal would go on your “permanent record”. It is hard to remember at this point, now that people are sharing their breakfast and every move on Instagram and Facebook but SuicideGirls was one of the first social networks. I think it is safe to say that people have embraced the connective power of the internet at this point.
A couple of years ago, we were alerted that some of our Instagram photos were being included in the “artist” Richard Prince’s gallery shows. He had a collection of 5′ x 6′ canvas blow-ups of various people’s personal Instagram posts hanging in an NYC gallery. He was selling them (including ours) for $90,000.00 each! It was not appropriating work from large companies as much of his previous work had done but stealing images created by young people, mostly women, who are just starting out in their careers. $90,000.00 is the cost of a house in most places other than Los Angeles. It was wrong but instead of getting caught up in a costly litigation that we would more than likely lose I decided to create 1,000 of the same print that he made and sell them for $90 each. We donated the profits to the EFF (electronic frontier foundation) https://www.eff.org
SuicideGirls – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The brand philosophy is that confidence is the sexiest attribute a person can have and that everybody is beautiful. With the website, I wanted to update the classic pin-up photos with modern girls and treat the models with respect and highlight their unique beauty. 99.9% of photography is about how the photographer frames out the world. The model is merely a prop in the photographer’s vision. I wanted to highlight how the model sees herself and how she feels the most beautiful. Switching the power dynamic to the women.
We wanted to do the same with Burlesque. We take the sexy spirit of classic burlesque and put a modern sexy fun twist on it. Creating a show that speaks the language of our community, so it is all pop culture referential – video games, movies, comic books, tv themed. It is a dirty, nerdy, sexy, fun time that brings people together.
All of our projects hold that same philosophy, whether it is a movie or a comic book; a t-shirt or an art book they all proudly declare the beauty of confidence.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is happiness. You should be motivated by bringing happiness to yourself and others. Life is too short for any other goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: SuicideGirls.com
- Instagram: SuicideGirls
- Facebook: facebook.com/SuicideGirls
- Twitter: twitter.com/SuicideGirls
- Other: blackheartburesque.com
Image Credit:
All images appear courtesy of SuicideGirls.com
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
