I am woma n, I take selfies
Kim Kardashian and Instagram may have given selfies a bad name, but whether they’re detrimental to feminism or facilitate it is up for debate. In her research presentation for the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2015, Lianna Pisani presents “Women And Selfie Culture: The Selfie As A Feminist Communication Tool.” A communications and culture graduate student at Ryerson University, Pisani examines how women use the selfie via social media as a way to challenge oppressive political ideologies. She spoke to the National Post’s Sadaf Ahsan.
Q How did you decide to study the ethos behind women and selfies?
A I took a class in which we needed to explore new uses of a technology. Someone jokingly suggested I explore selfies, because I enjoy taking them, and initially out of spite, I did. I started reading about Narcissus, Marshall McLuhan’s media theories and psychoanalysis. That’s when I started to think about how selfies are misrepresented in the media as self-indulgent, narcissistic practices, though they have a long history in media and technological developments. Q What is a feminist selfie? A It’s difficult to define the feminist selfie, because I don’t think there is a concrete definition of selfie yet. Cultural theorists Theresa Senft and Nancy Baym have said that it is an object as well as a practice or gesture. We need to consider the technology and symbol of the selfie within its social practices, and remember that technologies and new media emerge out of old media, and their uses are determined through cultural practice protocols. Not all selfies are feminist, but those that are visually highlight or chal- lenge an issue women face. The fact that so many take selfies represents feminism, in my opinion, because it highlights how women are using this technology to explore a self-representation that is reminiscent of the feminist art movement of the 1970s.
Q Is the selfie the Narcissus of our time?
A The idea that selfies are self-indulgent and have the power to make us more narcissistic is unfounded and ridiculous. Popular culture does perpetuate this view and push associations between selfies and pathologies, but there have not been any peerreviewed and reliable studies published to demonstrate the validity. When we talk about narcissism in this way, we are talking about cultural narcissism.
Q How has social media facilitated this phenomenon?
A In medieval times, possessing a mirror was a symbol of power. Now, the selfie has evolved from the Polaroid. The instant photo offers the chance to immediately take another and to look at it; there is no waiting. The fact that we can instantly share them online means there is an outlet to encourage selfie-taking. I don’t interpret it as selling oneself; you’re controlling your image and offering your own presentation of beauty.
Q What do selfies say about where modern culture is headed?
A Whenever something emerges in pop culture and becomes ubiquitous, it represents our culture and social practices. The selfie represents us as very visual, as a culture in which identity play becomes important. We need to see these technologies as macrocosmic and ask ourselves, ‘Why selfies and why now?’