The 'Selfie' and Society - Final Project by Allison Daugila

     ‘Selfie’ was the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year in 2013. Front facing ‘selfie’ cameras are installed on most smartphones, thus normalizing and perpetuated the act of taking a selfie. I would like to expose the phenomenon that is the act of taking a ‘selfie,’ alongside the sharing of it via social media platforms, and ‘selfies’ from the standpoint of the audience via social media, through a slide show presentation. ‘Selfies’ argument-ably perpetuate the reinforcement of what women in the media have been portrayed as for years, that all that matters is physical attractiveness in women. Women share their ‘selfies’ as a way to garner attention for their physical beauty, and the audience may or may not re-affirm this for them. ‘Selfies’ are typically images of women not speaking and are often in the context of appearing sexy and cute. This self-objectification of the female body done on behalf of the person sharing the image gives the false sense of power that they have control over their own image. The ‘selfie’ taker has the ability to manipulate what their audience sees, whether it be through body placement, posture, lighting, photoshop. Unless it is a completely au-natural image of the person, what they are actually doing is creating a false representation of themselves.

There are several debates about whether or not selfies are a positive or negative  phenomenon. Since ‘selfie’ was the word of the year last year, for some people this has become socially acceptable behavior, one that even President Obama endorses. Of course, ‘selfies’ taken with your grandpa on his 80th birthday are harmless, or a ‘selfie’ taken to show the accomplishment of climbing a mountain alone seem pretty awesome too. There are many instances where ‘selfies’ are totally fine, but the point of this argument is that typical ‘duck-faced selfies’ are the ones that are dominating ‘selfie’ culture, and are in alignment with the beauty myth problem our society has. Notice how many selfies are only taken on days where the photographer feels extra positive about their appearance, blemishes are absent or removed, or the angle in which the photo is taken in is one that shows the thinness of that person. 'Selfies' are a way for women to output their own image in comparison to the women they see on magazine covers. 'Selfies' are a way for women to give value to their existence in the lens of what our society thinks is beautiful.

My video will show ‘selfies’ as a process, and all of the time that is spent on this ritual. ‘Selfies’ are typically taken by the individual who owns the camera, and the ‘selfie’ photographer may take several photos of themselves during any given photo-shoot, and may or may not include a variety of facial expressions, backdrops, props or strange body postures. Following this, the photographer goes through the decision making process of deciding which photo to share, based on their own judgement of what it means to look good for the purpose of self-gratification, or sharing the ‘selfie’ based on what the individual hopes to achieve with presenting her image to others.

The truth about ‘selfies’ must be discovered and analyzed. ‘Selfies’ are ways people feel that they can control their own image, use them for self-gratification and in short, contribute to the male gaze. If someone who posts a 'selfie' receives negative feedback, what happens then? What about the young ladies who do not have good self-esteem and choose not to participate in this cultural practice? ‘Selfies’ may be simply narcissistic and self serving, or may hold the intention of visually pleasing others, either way, what role does our ‘selfie’ play in our culture? We need to really take a look at this ‘selfie’ culture and ask ourselves what importance does this have for us as individuals and for the rest of the world. Are our digital archives that we leave behind important to us? What kind of example are we setting for our children, and how do 'selfies' change the way other countries perceive us?


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"The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is...Selfie." November 18, 2013 2013. Web. <http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/11/word-of-the-year-2013-winner/>. 

The Daily Mail. "Take a lot of selfies? Then you may be MENTALLY ILL: Two thirds of patients with body image disorders obsessively take photos of themselves." April 10, 2014 2014. Web. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2601606/Take-lot-selfies-Then-MENTALLY-ILL-Two-thirds-patients-body-image-disorders-obsessively-photos-themselves.html>. 

Walker, Melissa. "The Good, the Bad, and the Unexpected Consequences of Selfie Obsession Teen Vogue takes a Look at how we Control our Image Online. " 2013. Web. 
     <http://www.teenvogue.com/advice/2013-08/selfie-obsession>.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480880/Celebrity-superfan-selfies-10k-stars-including-Brad-Pitt-Tom-Cruise-Lady-Gaga.html