SuicideGirls quit; say female empowerment reputation false

If you don�t know SuicideGirls (where have you been?) here’s the deal–it’s porn that features “alternative” women. Lots of tattoos and body piercings and the like. It’s enjoyed a high-profile reputation as female-controlled and operated. Apparently, that’s not necessarily the case.

A group of angry ex-models is bashing the SuicideGirls alt-porn empire, saying its embrace of the tattoo and nipple-ring set hides a world of exploitation and male domination.
…about 30 models have quit, claiming the site’s male owner treated them poorly and didn’t pay them well.
The women are spreading their allegations through the blogosphere, raising the hackles of the SuicideGirls company, which has until now enjoyed a reputation as porn even feminists can love. It offers burlesque tours, clothes and DVDs in addition to a sprawling online library of naked punk and goth women.
…the woman-friendly reputation of SuicideGirls is being battered. Since its creation in 2001, media outlets have lauded the company’s focus on goth, indie and punk models who aren’t necessarily big-busted and bikini-waxed. “It wasn’t the first alt-porn site to come along, but it was certainly the most widely promoted and probably the most influential,” said John d’Addario, editor of the porn blog Fleshbot.
The message of business-side female empowerment hasn’t hurt either. “The perception that women had an important/equal role in the administration of the site probably made it more attractive to some people who might not have visited a porn site otherwise,” d’Addario said.

Despite what the reputation of the site is, the models who have quit say that SuicideGirls is actually controlled by a man, cofounder Sean Suhl. They claim Suhl treated women badly and didn�t pay them enough.
The site claims that these are just a few women who are spreading lies. I don�t about you, but it seems to me that 30 women are more than just a couple of disgruntled employees. This is super disappointing.
Thanks to Ben for the link.