Suicide Girls have always had an out of the box approach to every facet they touch. This years Black Heart Burlesqueshow is celebrating its fifth year of touring and is making its way currently across the United States. The show features several numbers which span the themes of horror and comics, to movies and popular tv shows, with everything else imaginable in between. Suicide Girls has always been proud to promote body acceptance, and overall to be happy to be yourself, because everyone is unique. I was able to speak with Suicide Girls cofounder Selena Mooney also known as Missy Suicide, to learn more about Black Heart Burlesque and Suicide Girls.

GA: Thank you for allowing me to interview you. You are the co-founder of Suicide Girls and oversee many of the daily activities of SG. It’s been 17 years since the inception of Suicide Girls, looking back, could you tell me a little bit about how SG came to be?

MS: Suicide Girls was formed to show the confidence a person can have. So much of our society and world is advertising and corporations across all forms of media, that could make people feel insecure about their bodies. So, I wanted to create a place where we could love our bodies and ourselves and feel appreciative towards them.

GA: Suicide Girls is seen as an all-inclusive group that sheds a positive outlook of beauty on to women who challenge what the standard definition of what beauty is. Now it appears this shift has occurred somewhat in society, as tattoos and piercings are becoming more of a social norm. What do you think the next evolution of standing out is, in a beauty sense? By this I mean if everyone was to do the same trends, these things would cease to be unique.

MS: I feel like appreciating our own unique style as opposed to trying to emulate others is the next cultural evolution in standing out. I feel like tattoos are meant to reflect what is going on inside our bodies, onto the outside of our bodies, in ways of marking a time, or marking something that has happened to us. I feel that in that same sense, while tattooing is more popular, every person is uniquely tattooed. While tattoos are accepted more now, it is a way that our society is telling their own story. Society is now accepting that we each tell our own story through our bodies. Every tattoo means something, from the smiley face you got on your bum when you were drunk with your friends, reminding you of that time in your life; to a memorial tattoo, I have a tattoo of my grandmother. I feel like each tattoo means something, even the silly ones.

GA: The Black Heart Burlesque show is now in its 5th year of touring, which has many choreographed themes that span from science fiction, to horror, to comics and beyond, who picks these themes for the show?

MS: We have an ongoing list, close to 300 at this point, of themes or ideas that people think would be interesting. Lyric, who is our creative director will sit down with me, and we go through the list and try to pair up songs with the themes. She will take the songs we have paired up, and turn it into a performance routine for the show. It is a bit of a collaborative effort.

GA: How many women do you have working the Burlesque show this year?

MS: There are six dancers, and four support staff, who are all Suicide Girls on tour.

GA: What can people expect on this year’s Black Heart Burlesque tour? More attractions or any stand out Numbers?

MS: I am super excited about the Deadpool number we are doing this year. We have also reinvented our Westworld number which is very exciting. There are a lot of new numbers and exciting new takes on this tour. Even if you have attended the show in the past, I recommend coming back for this year, as things have changed and it is pretty special.

GA: What is one thing you would like aspiring models to know before approaching SG? Any tips or experience they should seek out prior to trying to join?

MS: I feel like with the process of joining the site, you don’t have to be a certain thing before joining the site. I think you should just be yourself and have the confidence to be yourself.

GA: SG has been involved in many facets of media, from movies to your live show, and even with the SG website, books, apparel, and a thriving social media interest, are there any places you are hoping to expand into or even further with, in the future for the SG brand?

MS: We did a comic book series about three or four years ago, I am hoping that we can get a comic book reboot this year. We also have another movie we are working on. I also would like to have a tour throughout Europe this year. There is so much to expand into, with the way Suicide Girls continues to grow.

GA: SG incorporates models throughout the world, and the Burlesque show is expanding every year with touring. With that much exposure, how does SG continue to produce a tasteful and entertaining product while expanding into areas that may not be accepting to your style (because of social or moral consciousness)? There had to of been some resistance in the beginning when trying to push out into certain markets or am I wrong to assume this?

MS: We have been around for seventeen years, and this year I feel like people are starting to embrace the message we have been sending out. We have stayed true to our original message since the beginning: that women’s bodies should be something that we are proud of, not something we are embarrassed or ashamed of, or insecure about. Also, that everybody is uniquely beautiful, and that they should be proud of the things that make them unique.

GA: That is a strong message to have, I have several friends that are involved with the website and it makes them happy. They are happy to be involved, and it has brought them out of their shell by making them feel more accepting of their bodies.

MS: It is remarkable to see someone on their journey. Advertising only works because it’s aim is to make us feel insecure about something in our lives. They want us to buy their products to make ourselves feel good. So, we are constantly imbedded with these messages that there is something that we must fix with ourselves or our lives, that we are not good enough. So, I think Suicide Girls is a bit of an antidote to that. We try to tell the girls that they are beautiful the way they are;that their ideas and minds are just as interesting and beautiful, as much as their bodies, which they should be proud of. To know what they are, and who they are. I think that if everyone in the world could feel that little bit of encouragement through their day, the world would be a better place.

GA: It seems like you have an all-inclusive home there with Suicide Girls. What would you want people who may be new to SG/Blackheart Burlesque show, to know or take from experiencing one of the shows?

MS: I hope that they take away from the website, or the show; that it is ok to be yourself. That they should be proud of who they are. Going to a show can be an experience that can literally change your life. Sunni, who hosted the show for several years, she started out as an audience member. She came to the show and was called up onstage during the dance portion of the show. She loved the energy and excitement of the show so much. She was working a government job in New York and was really close on giving up on her dreams. She has now travelled the world with us, and is an exceptionally talented singer, and is now pursuing her dreams as a performer. There is also an audience member from Oklahoma, who had come to a show, and they met a girl at the show and fell in love with her. He purposed to her at this year’s show. So, you never know what is going to happen.

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George Archibald

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