The SuicideGirls website and concept were created by the founding partners of parent company SG Services, Inc., Sean Suhl ("Sean") and Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") in late 2001, and based in Portland, Oregon. In 2003, the site operations moved to Los Angeles, California. Suhl and Mooney started the site "just to see hot punk rock girls naked." Mooney has also stated that the purpose of the site is to give women control over how their sexuality is depicted. The site is privately co-owned; in addition to Suhl and Mooney, co-owners include Steve Simitzis (server admin and SG user, "s5") and Simitzis's wife, Olivia Ball (former site programmer and Suicide Girl).
According to Moody, the term "suicide girl" comes from Fight Club author and Portland, Oregon resident Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote in his novel Survivor (1999): "It's the same with these suicide girls calling me up."As a trademark applied to the website and related merchandise and media, the term "SuicideGirls" is a single word, though this camel notation is often violated by external sources who split it into two words. The girls themselves are referred to as "Suicide Girls"

The website features a community created around the pin-up photos of the Suicide Girls. The members and the models all have the option to have a profile, keep journals, and upload their own photos and videos. There are message boards, public and private groups, and a chat room in which members can communicate with one another. There is a local feature in which members post their favorite local haunts, tattoo shops, and other businesses. Members in your area and regional groups are highlighted, and a calendar of events and map of your area are listed with the location of the previously mentioned businesses. The site features interviews and an ongoing newswire with celebrity columnists.

The model Bullet, exhibiting the multiple piercings and tattoos characteristic of SuicideGirls.

The images are collected into "photosets" that contain 40–60 images that take place in the same setting or theme. Originally, only one photoset went live on the site per day, but this eventually increased to two or more every day. As of March 2008 there are nearly 1.9 million images live on the site. The photographs are intended both as an homage to classic pin-up art and a portrayal of alternative images of beauty. The SuicideGirls create the theme of each of their photosets, and each is designed to showcase how each girl feels most beautiful about themselves.

Another model, showcasing the less-heavily tattoed and pierced style of some SuicideGirls.

Actress Paget Brewster has photographed models for the site,^[6] as have guitarist Dave Navarro and singer Mike Doughty.^[7]

[edit] Models

As of March 2011 the website features over 2,100 Suicide Girls, each billed simply under a first name or one-word nickname. Most of the models have nontraditional appearance modifications such as colored hair, dreadlocks, piercings, more extreme body modifications, or tattoos. Images include professionally shot photos as well as self-written profiles and journal entries which they update as often as they see fit with their thoughts, snapshots, anecdotes, rants, and whatever else they wish to include. The girls themselves are involved directly with the community and interact in groups and on message boards. Members can send the models private messages as well. The site receives over 1,000 applications weekly from new models interested in becoming Suicide Girls.^{[citation needed]}
popular^{[citation needed]} models.

Sam Doumit signing the Suicide Girls mag/book at San Diego ComicCon 2007. According to IMDB, she is the face of the Suicide Girls logo.^[8]

Positive reviews of the SuicideGirls site appeared in Rolling Stone, Wired, The New Yorker and other mainstream magazines. It was featured in a 2006 episode of the CBS program CSI: NY titled "Oedipus Hex" (guest-starring Missy Suicide),^[9] and also on HBO's Real Sex special, on ABC's Nightline, on the G4 series Icons, and on the Showtime series Californication. A number of Suicide Girls also appeared in the 2007 remake of The Wizard of Gore directed by Jeremy Kasten and starring Crispin Glover. The literary magazine Fence used a Suicide Girl for the cover of a recent issue. Rock musician Courtney Love has written what Willamette Week described as "rambling, stream-of-consciousness posts on the site."^[10] She also brought along three Suicide Girls (Emma, Robin and Ruby) during an appearance on MTV's "24 Hours of Love." Sixty-six Suicide Girls appeared in the PROBOT music video "Shake Your Blood". The Boston Phoenix did a two-part review of the site and its models. "The Naked Sorority"^[11] and "The Naked Sorority Part II"^[12] report on and discuss the girls themselves and the phenomenon.

[edit] Newswire and interviews

The SG newswire features daily columns, news items and feature interviews covering a diverse range of subjects, including politics, music, film, celebrity, gaming and technology, philosophy, love and relationships, spirituality, and food. Feature articles cover the world of arts and entertainment from underground niche artists to award winning filmmakers, directors, authors and recording artists. SG journalists go on location to movie sets, video shoots, press conferences, and cover festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, CMJ, SXSW, the Tribeca Film Festival, and ComicCon events around the nation. SG also has an embedded war reporter Michael J. Totten who publishes news, commentary and features from the Middle East on the SG newswire. The newswire provides a forum for the SG community to read up on areas of interest and discuss and share their own opinions about the material on the newswire message boards.
The newswire has featured celebrity columnists such as: Brad Warner, author of Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up; Scott Ian, co-founder and guitarist for legendary metal band Anthrax; Wil Wheaton, Geek author and actor; Chris Gore, founder of Film Threat; Margaret Cho, actress and comedian; Jonathan Kesselman, director of The Hebrew Hammer; Rob Corddry, actor and former Daily Show correspondent; Warren Ellis, author of science fiction and super hero comics, novels and television; Martin Atkins, author and musician known for his work with post-punk and industrial bands such as Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke.
SG's feature interviews include both cult and high-profile talent such as: Lady Gaga; Kathy Griffin; Russell Simmons; Michelle Rodriguez; Ice Cube; Steven Adler; Marilyn Manson; Nikki Sixx; Travis Barker; Slash; David Mamet; Audrey Tautou; Benicio del Toro; Rob Zombie; Mike Patton; Maynard James Keenan; Dave Mustaine; Dita Von Teese; David Lynch; Otto von Schirach; Debbie Harry; Jhonen Vasquez; Maggie Gyllenhaal; Johnny Depp; Neil Gaiman; Woody Allen; Bill Murray; Natalie Portman; Christopher Walken; Emile Hirsch; Kate Nash; Del James; Nina Hartley; and David Belle.
SG also produces a weekly radio show on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles, broadcasting Sunday nights from 10pm to 12 am PST. The show has been on air for 6 years and Indie 103.1 was named the "Best Radio Station 2008" by Rolling Stone Magazine. On the show, Suicide Girls take phone calls, give advice, discuss current events and play music. Past phone-in and in-person guests on the show included Maynard James Keenan, Mindless Self Indulgence, Dave Navarro, Tom Green, the Melvins, Rob Corddry, Ron Jeremy and more. Past Radio Show guest interviews can be downloaded as podcasts from the website. Indie 103.1 is no longer broadcasting on air and is now a streaming-media station online.