First off, the strip brought back ultra fond memories of watching my friend mope, pace and march on the dance floor to Bauhaus, NIN and Velvet AntiChrist. Best memory ever? One of my friends got himself fitted for fangs - that's right fitted for fangs. When he got them they made him lisp like a teen with a retainer. Nothing says "darkness" like spraying spit and and having trouble saying words with "s" in them. Very nice.
As for the Suicide Girls, I'm interested in the whole burlesque phenomena. I read an interview about the SG recently because they are in town tonight, and they insist that only 20% of those who visit the site got to the pictures. While seeing other more-or-less normal bodied girls didn't turn me on, it did make me feel a little better about my own body - the same effect watching a Russ Meyers movie had on me.
Having briefly work for a porn video rental place ( I have so many stories for another time), and just a little later as a sex ed. teacher, I developed a strong interest for human sexuality in my early years (ha didn't we all!). We're mostly presented with polished, air brushed, altered bodies, within a very narrow age range, that don't reflect the reality of normal human bodies. Where did the arbitrary decision of what is to be sold and packaged as "sexy" come from? In the same way that models all look the same, have the same measurements, etc, so it goes with women in porn - we're usually presented with a blank canvas porno girl on which we can impose our own meanings. Beyond this, it's also important to remember that your typical playboy centerfold can feed into a fetish for slim woman with unnaturally large breasts. I think it's fair to say that SG feeds into a specific fetish of those who like the tattooed and pierced, but these girls also try to have their own identities - not just expressed through body art, but through the majority of content on the site. It's a sort post-mod feminism. I'm not sure if it works, if it's the worst idea ever, or what, but I find it very interesting. Just like Ally McBeal, their packaging will draw me in and their content will likely let me down. Sigh.
Also, llimllib - I love the gif, but you must understand that the goth is a slow moving creature, hence why goth rhymes with sloth.