Sexy, naked, tattooed girls with brightly-coloured hair and piercings is probably what springs to most people’s minds when they hear the word SuicideGirls. For those in the know however, the SuicideGirls community runs deeper than just being a website full of hot, alternative women (though of course, there are plenty of those).
Co-founder Missy Suicide took some time out of her busy schedule to chat to MOSH about the SuicideGirls community, feminism, and why the SuicideGirls Blackheart Burlesque Show on 4th September is a night you definitely do not want to miss out on.
MOSH: First off, for those who have been living under a rock for the past 15 years and aren’t familiar with SuicideGirls, can you tell us briefly how it all started?
Missy Suicide: SuicideGirls started in 2001 as a place to celebrate beautiful women who choose not to fit into the norm and as a corner of the internet where outsiders could congregate and be appreciated for being themselves.
MOSH: You get 25,000 applications plus per year from hopeful models – how do you choose which girls successfully gain SuicideGirl status? Is it all down to a certain look, or do other factors like personality and external talents come in to play in your selection process?
Missy: Personality definitely comes into play and how active you are in the community. The community helps select who becomes an official SG, all sets go through the member review process and we listen to the feedback from our community.
MOSH: Do you/have you accepted girls who are not tatted/pierced?
Missy: Yes we have all types of girls, 3500 SuicideGirls from every continent in the world including Antarctica. You don’t have to have a tattoo to be a rebel.
MOSH: Alternative fashion, tattoos, piercings and geek culture are becoming increasingly more mainstream – what do you think the SuicideGirls will look like in another 15 years? Will there still be that niche in the market?
Missy: I think there will always be a need for a place where people with likes and interests that lean toward the geekier side, who appreciate a modified body and don’t feel like they fit in everywhere can be feel at home. I don’t know that that will ever change and suddenly everyone feel accepted and like everyone gets them. It will always be awesome to find someone who is into a Miyazaki movie in France and discover the best new band from Santiago before all your friends.
MOSH: With feminism, body-shaming and body confidence frequently being the subject of public debate, do you consider SuicideGirls to be part of a movement towards empowering women, and does it hold a more important place now than ever?
Missy: I feel like SuicideGirls has always been about giving the models a platform to declare how they feel sexiest about themselves and redefining beauty. Celebrating all types of beautiful, strong, artful bodies there are in the world.
MOSH: How do you respond to negative criticism from those who believe that SuicideGirls objectifies women?
Missy: Our bodies are nothing to be ashamed of. They are a part of us and declare our story to the world. Why shouldn’t we be naked and feel sexy as fuck? The more confident people are in their bodies, the more confident they are in themselves and the happier everyone is.
MOSH: What does feminism mean to you?
Missy: Feminism is empowering women to make up their own mind; have the freedom and respect of the society that they make up half of to live the life they choose.
MOSH: You’re bringing the Blackheart Burlesque show back to the rock’n’roll heart of London, Camden’s Electric Ballroom in a few days. For anyone who has not seen a SuicideGirls Burlesque show before, what can they expect and how is it different?
Missy: It is a pop culture nerdgasm. All of the routines are themed to reference pop culture that appeals to our audience (think Star Wars, superheroes, TV, movies and video games), all set to a kick-ass soundtrack and featuring some of the best choreography around. Seriously, this isn’t your Grandpa’s shimmy shimmy burlesque – these girls are badass dancers in storm trooper helmets. Why have you not got your ticket yet?
MOSH: Where did you draw inspiration from when putting this latest show together?
Missy: The show is inspired by all the things we love and gets our hearts thumping. I completely nerd out about the music. My favourite thing is to match up the pop culture theme to a modern song, like Planet of the Apes is set to Disclosure’s “When A Fire Starts To Burn” but in the talking bits it has pieces from The Simpson’s Planet of the Apes opera.
MOSH: Can you tell us a bit about the girls who are involved in this performance?
Missy: The girls are all amazing dancers and performers who have trained really hard to put on an amazing show. They are beautiful and unique and have such an amazing presence. They feed off the energy of the crowd so if you’re going to the show – you are really only cheating yourself if you aren’t – you should be LOUD. Then you should stay for our official afterparty, the Ballroom Blitz. It’s seriously the most fun night you are going to have this year!
MOSH: Who’s your favourite burlesque star?
Missy: Dita Von Teese is a classic and I love to see all of her sparkle, but honestly I love the SuicideGirls, they each have their own unique spin and bring such an amazing energy to the show.
MOSH: You’ve published books, DVDs, a game, and have launched the Burlesque Blackheart tour, all under the SG brand. What’s next for the SuicideGirls?
Missy: We are working on bringing the Burlesque show to South America, a new book, we would LOVE to do another comic book, and do a proper tour of Europe next year.
Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Missy!
The SuicideGirls’ Blackheart Burlesque show takes place on Friday 4th September at the Camden Electric Ballroom. You can buy tickets for the show here and if you need any more convincing as to whether you should go, check out this highlight reel of the SuicideGirls’ last London show!
