Q & A with Missy Suicide, Co-Founder of Suicide Girls
*photo cred: suicidegirls.com/girls/missy
Missy Suicide, also known as Selana Mooney, is the co-founder of SuicideGirls.com. The term “suicide girl” comes from Fight Club’s author Chuck Palahniuk’s 1999 novel Survivor. With 53% female members, Suicide Girls is a force to be reckoned with. Super-chill and down to earth, she is a great example of how if you have an idea or a talent, go for it. From Portland, Oregon to meeting Courtney Love, riding on private plans with Guns N Roses and even an appearance on Dr. Drew’s Loveline, Missy is one amazing woman.
I spoke with Missy to learn more about the upcoming tour and the origins of Suicide Girls.
It looks like you guys have a really hectic tour schedule with a show almost every day. How is the theme behind this tour going to be different from the last ones?
The last tour that we put on was in 2006/2007 and it was really fun, but at that time we were the only people doing non-traditional burlesque on a large scale. In doing something that wasn’t traditional we were pushing the boundaries enough. The last show was great, but to do this show there are so many more people doing non-traditional non-old-timey burlesque now between all of the local shows and then like Lady Gaga on a large scale so we knew that we really had to up our game for this tour. The girls are amazing dancers that have over 50 years professional experience between them and they are working with an incredible choreographer. Most burlesque shows it’s a tease, there is a lot of walking and prancing, not like hard-core dancing, In our show there is hardcore dancing, the costumes are amazing, the pop culture references are super current and the music — we have a pretty incredible soundtrack.
With over 3000 Suicide Girls, what’s the process of picking the girls that will go on tour?
We have auditions. We held auditions in Los Angeles, but girls could submit videos from wherever.
Will you be going on tour also with the girls or will you be working mainly out of L.A?
I’m going to go out to the show in Austin and then I am going on the east coast leg of the tour. (Unfortunately, she will not be coming to Richmond.)
What are you hoping that people bring away from the tour?
I hope that they just have a really fun, kick-ass night. Just a fun, sexy experience and that it’s a great night for everybody
Any post-tour plans?
We are hoping to take the tour international. The website also just re-launched for the first time in ten years so we are really excited about that and hope that people continue to check it out, get a membership and use the site from all of their devices…The website works on your tablet, on your phone, on your p.c. It is a lot more of a user friendly experience.
So we are really excited about that – You can even put a little icon on your home screen on your Iphone!
What was the idea behind Suicide Girls?
The whole company has been a joint effort between the both of us, it’s a lot of work to do a company.
We both were in the internet in the late 90s and we worked together on a number of sites that were all kinds of dot.com booms and busts.
We found ourselves in Portland, both living there after the dot.com bubble had burst in 2001 and I was going back to school for photography and I had started taking these pinup style pictures of my friends, [pictures] wouldn’t find anywhere in mainstream media.
All the girls being celebrated as beautiful were either way supermodel types or like Pamela Anderson. I know now it seems like, ‘yeah all girls should be pierced and tattooed’ but back then it was much more of a radical concept to celebrate those girls as being beautiful. I had these pinup style photos of my friends and Sean and I were talking in a coffee shop and I was showing him my pictures and he asked me what I would do with them. I really didn’t know, I didn’t want to put out a book and these girls had so much to say and share with the world…
When we were talking we came up with the idea to create a website around them and to create a community of the people that liked them. A place where people can come together and talk about the things that interested them and we would have interviews with people that we liked and kind of create this sort of playboy space for pierced and tattooed [women] of the 21st century. That was how the concept came about and we thought maybe it will be popular in Portland and possibly Seattle but it’s 12 years later we have over 3000 models around the world, every continent including Antarctica, and our social networking reaches over 10 million people.
What stuck out about the words “suicide girls”?
It had a good resonance to it and you know, girls had chosen to commit social suicide, it had good strong meaning and it was something that people in our generation would appreciate. Your grandmother probably wouldn’t go ‘I really love Suicide Girls’ but it seemed like a really good term that resonated on a lot of levels and just stood out.
What’s the process of becoming a Suicide Girl?
You can apply online. You go to www.suicidegirls.com/models.
You fill out an application and our model coordinator helps you through the process. You submit IDs and release, you answer a questionnaire about why you want to be a Suicide girl and if your application is approved, our model coordinator will walk you through the process. You submit paperwork and either get set up with one of our staff photographers if there’s one close by, or we talk you through the process of shooting the pictures yourself.
The Suicide Girls photosets are meant to showcase how each girl feels sexiest about themselves, and not the photographers vision of sexiness
And so, that’s kind of a rare experience.
How do you respond to people who see Suicide Girls as a site that exploits women and adds to what some consider an over-sexualized society?
I feel like our bodies, women’s bodies, are the most celebrated. If you go to an art museum they are the most celebrated subjects on earth, all throughout history – from the Greek statues to Renaissance paintings. I think it’s a pretty recent Endeavour to be so puritanical about our bodies and to feel like our bodies and sexuality aren’t an intrinsic part of being human. We shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed by them. There is nothing graphic or degrading on Suicide Girls, the girls are showcasing how they feel sexiest and confident and strong about their bodies and I think that it’s a very positive thing.
Going along with the concept of unconventional beauty, what has been the most positive experience that you can think about?
I get emails all the time from girls, probably at least 2 or 3 a week. I’ve got 768 emails over the past 12 years that have been just positive and girls just telling me about how great their experience has been and how its changed their lives and how seeing the girls on the site has made them feel beautiful about themselves and has allowed them to overcome body issues. We have girls that would not be celebate, would not be in any mainstream magazine, girls that are amputees or girls that have skin conditions. We even have a girl who is a little person on the site. We showcase that there are all different types of people that are beautiful and that confidence really is the sexiest [trait], and I have had 768 people email me–not including all the people that have come up and talked to me in real life and have told me their stories.
Do you have any advice for women who would like to become a Suicide Girl?
Yes! Don’t be discouraged if your first set isn’t accepted. Keep trying. We want to make sure that these photos are going to be something that you are going to proud to have on the internet and immortalized forever. And we want to make sure that everything is a positive experience. Just be confident and comfortable and showcase who you are in your first photos.
Where do you hope to take Suicide Girls in the future?
I hope that the tour has gone international, and I would like to see some kind of movie or TV show. I just hope that our message continues to grow.
How does your site differ from other sites that are out there?
The social network aspect of it.
On SuicideGirls you are likely to find people that share your interest, because the first aspect is you obviously both or all appreciate the tattooed and pierced beautiful women on the site. And then, when you go down to the groups where most people meet, if your into vegan baking or marijuana rights or step parenting, whatever it is that you want, you can join the group and you are likely to meet people all around the world who are experiencing what you are experiencing or are interested in what you are interested in. There are a lot of deep connections that have formed. There have been thousands of people that have met online and dated. Hundreds of people who have gotten married, and dozens of babies that have been born because their parents met on SuicideGirls. It’s crazy!
Do you get invited to the weddings?
I do! I have been asked to officiate a couple.
Is there anything else people should know about you or Suicide Girls in general?
Just check it out, take a look and follow us Facebook. Definitely come see the show! I think the show is indicative of the sexy-spirit. It’s fun and silly and awesome and encapsulates what the SuicideGirls experience is about
Have you ever thought about doing a SuicideGirls men’s version?
There is a group called SuicideBoys – it’s the male members post photos. There is thousands of years of precedence of what men find attractive about women and what women find attractive about themselves. It’s documented in photography, painting, and art. But there’s not that same sort of precedence about what women find attractive in men or how men are attractive for women
So I think there’s still some experimentation that needs to happen. They’re trying it out in their group, it’s cool –there’s some interesting things happening! Members get access to that as well!
What is your one pet peeve?
It’s hard to narrow it down…self-deprecating people. People that put themselves down in conversation. I can only tell you so much that you’re awesome, if you don’t believe it then you’re just fishing for compliments.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m an amazing baker. I make really awesome pies! Pie is my favorite dessert, so that’s my favorite to make but that’s not the necessarily the most impressive but its tasty.
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Upcoming Event – SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque in Richmond
If you’re looking for something to do in Richmond this weekend, tickets for the show are still on sale. It’s an event that you won’t want to miss. Sexy and fun with even some pop culture references! Pick up tickets at The National’s box office.
Check back for a review on the show as well as photos!