"The irony is that punk and goth subcultures have traditionally been welcoming places for the social misfit; now there�s a whole new level of weeding out the (un)desirables."

Here's a Bitch magazine article about Suicide Girls. It's not terrible, but it is predictable. The author notes that SG models don't make much money, and that they don't run the site as much as SG claims. Well, the reason they don't make much money is supply and demand--when they choose one out of 350 applicants, every week, they probably don't have to pay 'em at all. And, let's face it, people love that 'we're-in-control' conceit--it's at least partially to blaim for the popularity of things like Kids Incorporated and my beloved Muppet Show. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, yadda yadda.

The author comes off a mite too credulous. She quotes the story of the site's birth almost verbatim, talking about how the creators were tired of mainstream pornography and couldn't find any web pr0n with goths and punks. It's halfway between entrepreneurial skill and community service--they saw a need and filled it, giving people porn that looks like them, etc. And, clearly, it's bullshit.

She contrasts interests like 'long walks on the beach,' which, apparently, no one really believes Miss September enjoys, with SG profiles, which list favorite bands and talk about dead relatives and whatnot. The thing is, though, it never seems to occur to her that these young ladies might be lying.

Those painful recollections could as easily belong to Rae from 'My So-Called Life,' and those favorite bands could be checked off a pre-approved list, like when you see Korn on MTV presenting their favorite videos. Here's how I always figured it worked at Playboy--soandso asks the naked lady what she likes, and she says, y'know, 'oh, i like cuddling and Wheel of Fortune.' And soandso writes down 'dp's, fisting (wait, no, this is Playboy--make that, um, something with a bearskin rug in it.) and the Spice Channel.' This process can be conducted by one person rather than two. Maybe that's closer to how they do it on SG.

The author also observes that indie porn sites are 'designed better' than their more vanilla sisters, and I can't help but think that the people behind mainstream porn sites would beg to differ. As Krusty the Klown once said, 'Hey! This ain't art--it's business.'

Another problem, from a research perspective, is not enough sources--one would like to see her talking to SG models, and people from other porn sites. Someone more familiar with both subcultures and pornography could've written a better article. Ooh, and thanks to one of Rachel's pals for the link.