SuicideGirls (Hardcover)

~ Missy Suicide (Editor) "While I am tempted to let the images in this book speak for themselves, I also feel like I owe you a few words of..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of glossy shots marks the second birthday of the near-legendary eponymous Web site founded by Missy Suicide (borrowing a little hipster terminology from a Chuck Palahnuik novel in the process) to promote her own pin-up photography, and to make a place where women could "be themselves." The large format book is well designed and finely printed, with over 150 full-color photos of Scarlett, Flux, Fractal and the rest of the pierced, tattooed, leather-'n-lace-lovin' gang. The bulk of the book consists of Missy's portraits of the girls, but a section at the back allows the girls to speak for themselves through diary extracts, their own photos and their answers to questions like "How did you hear about SuicideGirls and what made you want to become one?" As 25-year-old Le from San Francisco puts it, exposing herself in various ways on the internet is both "a hobby and an art form." The S-Girls are spirited, sans doute, and you have to applaud Missy for making such a go of something she loves. But after a while, the tattoos and pierced nipples do tend to blur into something of a sub-Courtney Love mush. (And readers of a certain age won't be able to help wondering if any of these bedroom performance artists have boned up on Lora Logic, Poly Styrene and the much less generic-looking fem-punks of a previous generation.) One diary extract gives the flavor of the whole: "Fuckin' ex boyfriend. You suck. Your records suck. Think I'm gonna throw 'em somewhere, in a garbage dump."
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Product Description

The SuicideGirls adult-entertainment website mixes the edginess, smarts, and attitude of the best alternative music and culture sites with an unapologetic, grassroots approach to sexuality. It is "empowered erotica," in which women outside of mainstream culture showcase their unique personal styles on their own pages, where they put up sexy pinup-style photos of themselves, post a personal profile, and keep online journals in which they discuss daily experiences (both naughty and nice). In this way, they are in charge of their own image and how they are represented. The Girls are from all over the world, including the United States, Canada, England, Finland, and Sweden. In addition to journal entries selected from the site and over 200 artful X-rated color photos, the book contains an introduction by Missy Suicide about how she got involved with this revolutionary culture and started the website.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Feral House; Later Printing edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932595031
• ISBN-13: 978-1932595031
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #2 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Erotic
  #12 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Subjects > Nudes
  #19 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Erotic Photography

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent first effort, April 29, 2005

By	Matt (Damnation) - See all my reviews

I have to first start out by admonishing the politicking by both sides in the reviews of this book. It's unprofessional, very misleading and ultimately doesn't have any place here. And I'm a member of the site in question which is why I'm equally disappointed by the fellow SG-ers who've taken it upon themselves to throw off the grading curve by unobjectively praising the book when the request that was made by the site was simply to review it, not wax poetic about it.

Anyway, that said I liked the book. But I'd be lying if I said I loved it. The photography was all well and good. Good lighting, etc. But as one reviewer stated before me it was just pictures of naked girls. There was no real visual panache to it. In a way it seemed like somewhat of a self-congratulatory piece. Especially since all the photography was taken by Missy who's actually done some spectacular work that wasn't included here. Not to mention that the site boasts the visual talents of Lithium Picnic. As such this book left a little to be desired. And it may just be a gripe exclusive to me but what is with the postcard size, one image to a page format?

I did however really like the interviews and journal excerpts in the last section of the book. I might have interspersed them throughout the book scrapbook-style, but that's just me.

All told it was a laudable first effort. Improvements could be made, sure. But I think it sets a good precedent that I hope they expand on with additional works in the future.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Join the site instead, January 22, 2007

By	Anthony Padilla (Ventura, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

So why doesn't this book feature big, fat, ugly girls in its photo sets? It's a common criticism of SG, meant to negate its artistic merits. First, the obvious answer: it's erotic photography, meant to entice, arouse, et cetera. Featuring unattractive, unarousing models is obviously defeating the purpose. Sound shallow? It is, but let's not fool ourselves; this is altporn we're talking about. Secondly, anybody who makes this argument has misinterpreted SG's goals. "Redefining beauty" doesn't mean turning ugly ducklings into swans, but rather, to accomodate an alternative market that has been largely ignored up until this point.

Beauty is still beauty.

All that being said, however, this particular book is a rather unremakable collection. Though the website itself is spectacular and features some amazing sets, this book was published before Missy and co. really found their trademark visual style. There's way too many bedroom/domestic shots, rendering the entire collection rather monotonous. Still, it's definitely worth a look, if not neccessarily a must-have.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I dunno......., June 19, 2007

By	T. Hardin (seaside,oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To each their own,"beauty in the eye of the beholder", & all that.I find this a bit of a yawn - funny how all this leather/tats/piercings/etc seems to symbolize having a "free mind" nowadays.You see this all the time now,these daring "non-conformists" conforming to the hipster wannabe Ideal.Seems so uninspired and well,boring.Again,to each their own.....