Selfie-ism

In his book/TV series, “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger maintained ‘there are different ways of seeing man and woman.’ He argued that a woman is always self-conscious, always aware of her own presence in every action she performs. Consequently, “her self value is measured through the manner in which she is portrayed, in her own eyes, in others' eyes and in men's eyes.” Meanwhile men who possess power and ability, are seen differently.  Ways of seeing are ways of subjecting, and therefore distinguish a man and woman’s stance in the world. Men look at women, while women watch themselves being looked at.  In other words, the man is a surveyor of the woman and consequently the woman is surveyed, thus turning the woman into an object of vision, a sight.

What does the selfie then do to Berger’s theory when everyone is being observed? Has our ways of seeing changed in modern times with the emergence of the selfie?

Miriou observed that the selfie gives us control over the production of our image, it ‘gives to the individual control over all the four image repertoires, a privilege earlier shared with the photographer.’ 

The selfie I’ve entitled “Kid on sign” allows this individual to show that he is daring and adventurous, perhaps even a little crazy.  This type of selfie is unusual and may help him garner social rewards which Leary (2013) maintains is one of the reasons that motivates people to take selfies. A selfie that, quite literally, rises above the rest will garner more likes and shares and ‘encourage people to actively foster an audience (Marwick, 2014).  The production of this photo was significant and leaves one wondering how he managed it.  It gives me vertigo just looking at it!  Social media has become a way for all of us to potentially achieve celebrity status, whether we want it or not. As Bird points out “Our identities are inextricably linked to our social media accounts”.

At times the celebrity status one attains through social media can be unwelcome and harsh, as is the case of Jada, a young woman from Texas, who was assaulted and images of her were posted online without consent while she was passed out after being drugged.

As Tifentale points out the selfie can be a ‘way to control others’ images of us’ which is what Jada. Essentially her power to portray herself was taken away from her in a cruel and embarrassing public manner that was demeaning to her as a person. But she regained her power by posting her own selfie online, with a sign and the hashtag #IamJada on the sign. Katz points out that “A selfie with a sign immediately personalizes a campaign and also shows a strong commitment from individuals.” The result of Jada’s post saw many people join her, to show support and to create in effect a movement, She was able to reframe the narrative that someone else had created around her self and use it to empower herself and others. Hashstags such as #StandWithJada, #JusticeforJadaand #Jadacounterpose were used to bring attention to issues like violence against women, rape culture and victim blaming.  Her actions eventually led to a conviction of the alleged rapist.

Not all selfies are so public in their aim.The selfie of an older man who holds a younger likeness of himself up for comparison is introspective in nature and shows that he is thinking about his life.  It is the selfie as the performance of self, ‘freed by the carnivalesque atmosphere of digital ecologies to explore identity’ (Levin, 2014). He is comparing himself to no one but himself. It is a moment of self-analysis. Bird argues that ‘we look at ourselves and are subconsciously comparing ourselves to everyone else at their best’ but this man’s selfie is a comparison of the young and old representations of himself.  

Perhaps he is using his earlier image to mask part of his self and remain hidden. Creating a blind spot. The Johari window, a technique created in 1955 by two American psychologists, was designed to help people better understand their relationship with self and others. 

Loch (2014) argues ‘when your impact is not matching your intentions you have a blind spot’ and the bast way to deal with it is to take a selfie.  The Blind Spots are areas that are ‘Known to Others and Unknown to Self’. Seeing ourselves through someone else’s eyes can help us address our blind spot.

The “girl and Eiffel tower” selfie is yet another creative approach that garners social rewards and perhaps deservingly so. To see something as iconic as the Eiffel tower from a new perspective is creative and interesting. This selfie is a representation of ‘a moment of playfulness that helps us to recognize the truth about living in culture that celebrates the individual and the spectacle’  (Clark, 2013). Even through the image is a little blurry there is no question that this woman is at the Eiffel Tower in France.  This selfie draws you in and you want to examine it closer to determine how she took it. You will probably turn your phone to view it and give it a moment longer than other pictures.

So is the selfie a form of self-absorption or an expression of freedom, giving agency to anyone who has the desire, to project themselves as they would like to be seen to the world?  Is it art? Self-portraiture has existed for a long time and was practiced by painters such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt.  Today almost anyone can produce a selfie, it has become the most democratic creative medium available to people. 

My final selfie is one of a young man and a kangaroo who seem to share a likeness. It is charming and funny and probably made a few people smile who saw it.  It is ‘innocent fun’ but as Murphy (2013) points out in her article, what can seem fun or innocent at the time can turn against you. Still I don’t think anything could ever come from this particular photo for either subject. 

How we see one another has indeed changed with the selfie.  D.A.K. noted "the autobiographical nature of the selfie gives us access to reconfiguring how we are actually seen, also known as subverting dominant assumptions or “truths.” Perhaps we are seeing one another differently, changing our blind spots, becoming both creator and product through the humble selfie. Maybe it is increasing narcissism but could it also be making us more aware of others and taking us outside of ourselves and changing the way we see.

References 

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Modern Penguin Classics.

Bird, D. (August 5, 2014). The Presentation Of Self In Social Media: The Self vs. “Selfies”. Retrieved from http://liveyoungandfree.ca/young-living/social-media-self-vs-selfies/

Browntourage, D.A.K. (Sept. 2014). “A *Different* Selfie Article: Decolonizing Representations of Women of Color”.  Retrieved from http://www.browntourage.com/magazine/look-at-me/

Clark, L. (2013) Scholarly reflections on the ‘selfie’. Retrieved from http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/scholarly-reflections-on-the-selfie-woty-2013/#sthash.yT28Su2X.dpuf

Katz, L. (May 2014). “Say it with a Selfie: Protesting in the Age of Social Media,” Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/05/10/311143584/say-it-with-a-selfieprotesting-in-the-age-of-social-media 

Leary, M. R. (2013)  The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life and editor of Interpersonal Rejection. Retrieved from http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/scholarly-reflections-on-the-selfie-woty-2013/#sthash.yT28Su2X.dpuf

Levin, A. (2014). “The Selfie in the Age of Digital Recursion,”  Invisible Culture. Retrieved from http://ivc.lib.rochester.edu/portfolio/the-selfie-in-the-age-of-digital-recursion/

Loch, M. (2014) Taking a Selfie. Retrieved from http://michelleloch.com/2014/03

Marwick, A. E. (2015). Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the Attention Economy. Public Culture, 1(75), 137-160.

Miriou, C. (2014). “The Selfies: Social Identities in the Digital Age,” Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference, Swinburne University, Victoria 9-11 July, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.anzca.net/documents/2014-conf-papers/771-anzca14-miriou/file.html

Murphy, M. (2013) Putting Selfies Under a Feminist Lens. The Georgia Straight. Retrieved from http://www.straight.com/life/368086/putting-selfies-under-feminist-lens

Tifentale, A. (2014).The Selfie: Making sense of the “Masturbation of Self-Image” and the “Virtual Mini-Me”. The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York. Retrieved from http://d25rsf93iwlmgu.cloudfront.net/downloads/Tifentale_Alise_Selfiecity.pdf