by Nikki Fei

Created on: October 02, 2008

Suicide girls are punk, goth, or indie-styled soft-core pin-up models who take pride in being different and whether they be viewed as feminism or pornography has to depend on the person viewing those photos. SuicideGirls pay models by sets of theme photos they take with photographers of their choice, one provided by SG, or yourself in the privacy of your own home. They prefer partial nude photos and to become a model doesn't take too much. Just a few photos of yourself sent to their emails provided on their website and from there you'll be helped all throughout.

It really depends on which photos I'm staring at to categorize whether it be feminism or pornography and I view SG as both artsy and soft porn. I was also invited to become an SG by Miss Suicide herself but kindly declined after thoroughly researching what it was they did. Because they allow future models to view other model's picture, I did so and found myself shy and embarrassed. I don't think I could ever post a picture of myself partially nude on-line and this is where some can view it as pornography.

After doing a photoshoot, you must give your theme a name. Thinking from the top of my head I remember one model in particular who did a theme of not remembering her previous, wild night. In this set there are snapshots of the model getting dressed and sneaking out of this strange guy's house without trying to wake him up. I also remember seeing another set of photos where the model was dressed as a mechanic covered in what seemed like oil. These two sets lean more towards pornography than artsy because of the theme.

Other pictures, depending on how the set was done can be viewed as arty as well. Picture staring at a picture of a girl wrapped in fur partially showing her bare body while she relaxes on a Victorian styled seat. Note that she's also staring away from the cam and hopefully the picture has been photo shopped to make it seem like the picture has been taken a couple of decades back. Then add a book to it, a pair of glasses, with the model staring directly towards the cam. Just a few items can turn this set from artsy to pornography. It all has to do with what props were used during the photo-shoot.

I also believe that it also has to depend on how the model wants her viewers to think of her work for us to confidently categorize it as a soft porn. If she has something sexy in her mind, it's more than likely that it'll turn out sexy. If she wanted it to be colorful, crazy, and fun then it'll be so. If I was to ever get to guts to send in my sets, I'd more than likely have it be very artistic to target artsy viewers.

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