Mythica: Models, Beauty and Suicide Girls Oh My!!!

 

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I asked about Suicide Girls © on my website because a photographer wants to hire me to paint a potential girl… Prior to being asked I had never heard of them other than in passing. I thought they were a band honestly. Turns out they started out as a women owned alternative edgy, tattooed & pierced pinup site. Either way, everyone has an opinion on it.

This question brought up quite a discussion on models, beauty, and the industry in general. Several of my friends are models on the local level. I also happen to have some very international friends who are open about sharing their opinions. One of them shared her opinion on “real” models, and their ability to stop a room. While I understand the quality they are talking about, she is talking about a very small percentage of the entire industry. It’s called the fashion WORLD for a reason… this lead to talking about what was “real”, what was “beautiful” and so on.

I also have an opinion. I also have my own column. I share when I have something to say. So here it is.

I stand by my original response to the opinion that lashing out about Suicide Girls as being models who can’t hack it (in a nutshell) as a comment that at its core is a self reflection of insecurity. I was asked to explain. I am not a quick wit so I am taking my time here.

When we (I mean us girls) are little inevitably something happens on the playground, or in school, playing with other kids. Someone is mean to us. We get our feelings hurt, someone fights with or over a toy… brothers or sisters, hit, punch, bite, scratch… there comes this defining moment, to be or get sad, or mad. It is one of the seeds that form the core and end up defining personality. In those beginnings comes the moment of learning one of two ways to be a girl… being a bitch, or being a doormat. On the one hand, getting angry can be a powerfully good thing. In either case it is the soft underbelly, of a wounded child carried into adulthood that remains.

As a woman we are fighting either the image of being mean or trying to make sure we are not seen that way. There are more t-shirts about the line between being a bitch and being an angel than you can throw a stick at. The former often will tell you that they are far happier than the latter. Often women who have a hard time with intimacy do so because they are always either defensive or offensive… vulnerable bitch is not often a combination we see as a healthy role model. The only exception I know of is the rock pop star Pink. But like my friend said, not everyone can be a rock star.

What it boils down to, is healthy boundaries, and a healthy self image that doesn’t required putting anyone down in the first place. There are rock stars and famous Hollywood personalities who are stopped by someone in the room. They are people like me, and another friend of mine. He is friends with Johnny Depp, he’s partied with Angelina Jolie, and he’s close friends with Amy Lee of Evanescence. The reason he is friends with these people is because he treats them like human beings. There is a tier parallel with these people where others aren’t affected by the glamour and see the human being.

While I see the difference in levels in the modeling world I don’t feel the need to point out that one group is real, and the rest just need to grow up. I see a spectrum. I see people learning about themselves, and humanity. Some of those lessons are hard, and harsh. Some of those lessons are life changing, and rewarding beyond recognition. The modeling world can either be great for your self-esteem, or horrible. Bad and good experiences can be found at every level.

All I did was ask a question about the Suicide Girls. What I got was that even if my friend is a bitch, it was because life experiences lead her to a place where that was necessary. But what is true for her doesn’t have to be true for anyone else. I’d rather live in my world, where I body paint models to help them heal from all the terrible things people like her have said to them along the way.

At the heart of any interaction, is either love, or it’s not… making the world a better place, or not… building up, or tearing down, … some people have the job of showing the ugly side of humanity, so that the good ones can shine… in the end I see different kinds of beauty everywhere. I just happen to be lucky enough to paint them too.

Namaste’

Mythica