Suicide Girls

[Usagi]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Are these ladies on MerNetwork?

[Usagi]

Also, are any of you mers, or have you ever been, a Suicide Girl?

[Taniira]

If you weren't required to be fully nude, I would totally be a SG. I'd also be a Cosplay Deviant, but they have the same requirements. While I'm not exactly modest, I don't really want to be naked all over the internet. I have no qualms with those who choose to do it, it's just not my thing.

[Usagi]

So would you do it if you were only HALF nude? Haha :P but I feel the same way...I wouldn't want it to haunt me somewhere down the line...can you imagine the crap someone would get if they became a celebrity and the public found out they used to be a suicide girl?

[Taniira]

Half nude really isn't any worse than being in a bikini, IMO. I'd probably even be OK fully nude if I could cover all my bits. It really would haunt you for the rest of your life. It takes a really strong and specific kind of person to be willing to do that.

I keep meaning to tell you that I love your avatar, especially considering I have that print on a tshirt! I love Karen Hallion's work.

[AniaR]

*is a nude model and an accomplished educator* the nude photos rule really only causes people problems when they aren't smart about it I find. I'm very up front with the jobs I do that I've done nude work before. That being said, the photographers I work with are internationally recognized so it's not hard for me to validate what I do.

Suicide girls I really feel came about to create a market for alternative models. regardless of how many pics you see online- there really isn't a big commercial market. If you even have the tiniest tat or a nose ring big agencies and events wont look twice at you. I think some of the stuff suicide girls does is great and ground breaking, but just like every other niche there are trashy things too that I think ruin it for others. I know a girl who is a suicide girls model and she's a really hateful and defensive person and for a long time she really put me off their "brand" before I met others who won me over.

I didn't see any actual mermaid tails tho, just two girls in swim suits?

[Usagi]

Yeah, I thought about it after I posted this, and realized they were probably just being silly. Lol when I first read it, I thought they meant that the girls were mermaids outside of SG. Are you up front about the nude modeling with those that hire you for kids' parties?

[AniaR]

Are you up front about the nude modeling with those that hire you for kids' parties?

No, why would I be? lol. It's not really anyone's business unless I'm working for a company/organization that has a policy against certain types of photos- in which case I disclose (but that's my personal choice, people are not required to do so). My modelling (all of it, not just nude) is separate from what I do as a mermaid, what I do as a musician, and what I do as an educator. It's no more their business than my religion, sexuality, or food preferences. The only reason I point it out here is that people think being a nude model is rather scandalous and we'll keep you from future opprotunities. It never has for me. When I got into the degree program to be a teacher the first thing I did was talk to the local school board and the local teacher's union to be sure none of the modelling I'd done in the past would give them reason to fire me, and to find out if I could continue doing it without being penalized. They literally said, that's my own business not theirs. I couldn't legally be fired for being a nude model in the past, present, or future. When you hear stories about people being fired for nude photos- it's usually because the images were intended as sexual (like a sext) to a specific person and they were suddenly made public in a way that could possibly endanger clients or kids. All of my work that is published is under a pseudo name, so it's not like a kid could search and search and find it. Even if they did, the work is published in context- in art magazines, in art books, and photo text books. Anything that is online is age filtered so someone has to be over 18 to view it. Doesn't stop a kid from lying about their age- but that's their accountability, not mine. In the vast majority of cases where companies/institutions have tried to fire people, legal action was taken, and they were forced to compensate the individual.

Like I said, the only time it usually has bad consequences is when people aren't smart about it. If a parent happened upon one of my images in a magazine and realized it was me and made a complaint to the school board, the school board would be all "sorry. Nothing we can do for ya" to them. But if was teaching grade 2 and came in and decided to share my nude photos- well then you see the problem right? The majority of fine art nude models I know have regular day jobs. They're accountants, teachers, reporters, lawyers, doctors, instructors, and all other types.

Just keep in mind that nude modelling doesn't = porn. Porn is an entirely different kettle of fish. Porn could get you in trouble and mess up your future if you wanted to do something outside of porn. Being nude in a photo doesn't = porn.

For anyone who might be curious, you can see some of the work by the photographers I have worked with (for context purposes) at www.evolvingbeauty.com and www.steverichard.com chances are unless you're a person on here who knows my very well, you'll have trouble figuring out if an image is me

[Thalassa]

You're lucky that you're school districts have that attitude. I've known great teachers who were fired because they were once underwear models (they never showed the pics), because they were part of a political protest (had nothing to do with education and they never talked about it with their students), and because they posted political messages on their personal Facebook. I know a lot of the parents around here would never hire me if they thought I had been a nude model. It's ridiculous, but there it is. I myself was nearly kicked out of my student teaching because I wore alt fashion on the weekends. Hurt/scared me so much that I gave up the fashion as soon as I got a full-time position, just in case.

[AptaMer]

You're lucky that you're school districts have that attitude. I've known great teachers who were fired because they were once underwear models (they never showed the pics), because they were part of a political protest (had nothing to do with education and they never talked about it with their students), and because they posted political messages on their personal Facebook.

I love the American people, and got to know many amazing folks when I lived for year and a half in California. OTOH, the prudishness, judgementalism and fundamentalism in some part of the States is actually scary to me. I was amazed when I read the article about how the fired a techer in Georgia because someone hacked their way into her Facebook page, found a picture of her drinking beer, then tattled to the principal of her school about it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#axzz2JgUXW5iE

That's just downright creepy. That someone would go on such a vicious crusade over a thing like that, and that a pricipal would actually try to destroy someone's career? What rocks do these people crawl out from under?

Anyhow, American Mers- I love you all, but coming from Canada where people can't just be fired from their jobs because somebody didn't like a personal, perfectly legal, activity they did; I find the USA to be a little bit scary at times. Maybe these fundamentalists need some Mer love to get a change of heart?

[AniaR]

Legally, you could honestly challenge all those things. How people get around it usually is having very very vague policies. Some companies have a policy that you can't have a public FB account - but they don't let you know that. They don't usually enforce it-unless they find people posting things they don't like. Lots of companies try to stretch their "insubordination" policies to wrap around many things. But honestly, when it comes down to it- for many of those things there are laws against discrimination in the workplace that can be stretched just as easily as their policies.

People do have to know though that Canada is 100% different than the states. A well known female politician recently had a member of the opposing party try to "leak" nude photos of her. It barely made the papers, and no one cared, and the opposing party had to issue a public apology. Nudity and public toplesslessness is allowed in many places. In my city particularly, the arts are the back bone of the community. Canada has a very different attitude than the states.

But I digress, at the end of the day, it's no more a clients business than it is a strangers. I don't hide what I do- but I DO keep it in context which is a big reason why I likely won't do any full frontal topless mermaid pics in the future. it blurs the line between the two things and I'm not interested in it. (though I get harassed by some of my followers on a routine basis). Think of it this way- should I tell potential clients that some people see mermaids very sexually and their are fetishes associated with swimming underwater? It has nothing to do with what I do as a mermaid. A client may be an athiest but I don't have to say "and by the way while you're considering hiring me you should know I affiliate with Christianity" because again, what I do in my personal life has nothing to do with my mermaid life in that regard.

I think you'd be really surprised. There are certainly bad situations that can happen, but people can be much more understanding than you'd think especially when they know the context. When I first started nude modelling I was also doing youth work at my local church. A guy who I'd turned down for a date hacked into my email which let him hack into my personal website, my MSN, and my part of the church website. He took a photo a photographer had sent me as a test shot- that didn't show any nudity but certainly suggested it, and posted it on the church website. He sent it around to KIDS that I had in my contact list, parents, and priests. I had no idea any of it was going on. But a few people in the community knew I was into this type of art because I'd had images on display in a local gallery. Instantly people took it for what it was and realized there'd be no way in hell I'd intentionally send around a photo like that. I had zero complaints or issues. Of course, I was a wreck and didn't feel like I could show my face and was mortified. But literally, people talked to me, emailed me, called me just to say they felt bad it had happened to me and they thought I handled it with grace. A little while later I was invited to talk about it on TV and give a public lecture at my university which is still being broadcasted like 7 years later.

I think. it's similar to mermaiding. There are people who will look at what we do as a mermaid as think all kinds of bad things. it's up to us to simply continue validating what we do and insist it's acceptable. I go into things as a professional. I give context, I work my ass off to make sure my work is NEVER taken out of context. People can fight the system and win- they do all the time- when you read stories about people who couldn't a lot of the time it's because of the ever mounting legal fees and stress it puts them under.

Any way my point is, before I got into nude modelling I thought exactly what all of you do, and probably even more. But I dipped a toe in and eventually dove in head first. The trick is just to always be smart about your choices and consider how things will look down the road. I never regret my choices regarding modelling for a second. Even if something happens in the future I have gotten so much positivity from what I've done I still wouldn't trade it. It's helped shape who I am. It's not for everyone, but it's nothing to judge a person over. I think a lot of the hesitation comes from simply not seeing or understanding a difference between porn and nudity.

[Taniira]

Raina, thank you so much for posting all of your responses. I think it really helps to hear directly from someone with experience. You're making me rethink a lot of things.

I'm still not sure it's for me -- at least not while I still live in the US (especially the conservative South), but I'm certainly going to think about it. And as I'm hoping to be in the UK within the next 3 or 4 years, maybe I will dip a toe in.

[Blondie]

I think that it is sort of because you live in Canada Raina xD People seem so much more relaxed and chilled out there. My old professor said that they basically handcuff teachers to their desk in America because there is SO much you can't do. I know where I live, if anything "offends" a parent or a student here, you can get fired.
I've known teachers getting fired for saying hell or damn, speaking about religion, and a REALLY bad one that a lot of teachers got fired for was "eyeing students up". In middle school, if someone basically didn't like their teacher, they would just go to the office and say the teacher is coming onto them, looking at their chest or butt. I've seen it happen to sooo many wonderful teachers of mine. It makes me want to vomit.

[Usagi]

I'm very up front with the jobs I do that I've done nude work before.

That's why I asked. Lol and you make me want to move to Canada. O.O
No one really cared about what the teachers did at the schools I went to...the students generally liked the teachers that cursed and whatnot more than the teachers that didn't. I guess it made them feel like they were being treated like "grown ups." lol
My sophomore year of high school, I had a biology teacher that would stand outside the door until the bell rang, occasionally greeting people as they walked in the door. He was really creepy looking..like, he was from Michigan, I think (not saying that people from Michigan are creepy-looking) and had a snaggle-tooth and his teeth were yellow. Just had that general creeper look. I was always nice to him, until he started saying "Hello" in a creepy voice and looking me up and down when I would walk into class. O_O I never said anything to faculty, but maybe he did the same thing to other students, because he was gone the next year...Haha

I think I'll be more interested in nude modeling if I become more comfortable with my body..and also when I'm older. I'm only 18, and I think my entire family (except my siblings) would shun me. And having no job, I would very much like to NOT get kicked out and no longer have my schooling paid for. :P

[Taniira]

I had a teacher in high school that got fired for taking his German language students to Germany just because the principal didn't like him (and all of the parents knew that it wasn't a school-affiliated trip... it's a long story -- he tried to do it as a school trip but the principal wouldn't allow it). She did allow the Geography teacher to take her students to Epcot, though.