Believe in Yourself(ie): A study of young, ordinary, South African women who share selfies on Instagram Jessica de Aguiar Pereira (565254) A dissertation in fulfilment for Master of Arts in Media Studies Supervisor: Dr. Mehita Iqani Faculty of Humanities School of Language, Literature and Media Studies (SLLM) University of the Witwatersrand 2016 Plagiarism Declaration: I, Jessica de Aguiar Pereira, am a student registered for Master of Arts in Research in year 1. I hereby declare the following: (cid:16) I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else's work without their permission and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong. (cid:16) I confirm that the work submitted for assessment for the above course is my own unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise. (cid:16) I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of others. (cid:16) I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary action against me if there is a belief that this is not my own unaided work or that I have failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing. Date: 15/06/2016 Turnitin Originality Report: Page of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Defining, Debating and Theorizing Selfies: Overview of Literature 6 - Defining and Discussing Selfies in Contemporary Culture 6 - Contextualizing Self-Portraiture and the Significance it holds today 9 - Snapshots: A Closer Look at the Aesthetics Unprofessional Photography 12 - Adapting the Mobile Phone: The Impact of Camera (Smart)Phones on Personalized Photographic Practices 13 - Identity Work: The Construction and Representation of the Self Online 15 - Self-Promotion and the Rise of a Digital Reputation Economy 19 3. Narcissism, Self-Exploration and Self-Regulation: A Theoretical Gestalt 22 - Selfies as a Further Illustration of Society’s Ever Narcissistic Embrace 22 - Selfies as a Means of Self-Exploration and Identity Formation 25 - Selfies as Reinforcement of or Resistance to Patriarchal Authority 28 4. Research Methodology 33 4.1) Methodology 33 4.2) Method 35 4.2.1) Ethical Clearance 35 4.2.2) Interview/Focus Group Background 36 4.2.3) Recruitment of Participants 37 4.2.4) List of Research Participants 38 4.2.5) Interview Setting 42 4.2.6) Interview Guide 43 4.2.7) Instagram ‘Tours’ 43 4.2.8) Why Instagram? 45 4.2.9) Audio-Recording the Discussions 45 4.2.10) Analysis of Discussions 45 4.2.11) My Role as Researcher 46 4.2.12) Potential Limitations and Researcher Positionality 47 4.2.13) Closing Considerations 48 5. Research Analysis and Findings 50 5.1) Selfies as the New Normal 50 5.2) The Labour of the Selfie 56 5.2.1) Politics of the Aesthetic 57 5.2.2) Emotional Labour Invested in Selfies 61 5.3) Beauty: The Desire to Look Good versus Self-Acceptance 65 5.3.1) Ideal Beauty: “How I wish I looked” 66 5.3.2) Aspirational Beauty: “I would look better if…” 72 5.3.3) Redefining Beauty: A Step towards Self-Love and the Diversification of Beauty 80 5.4) Instagram ‘Likes’: The Development of an Attention Economy or the Development of the Self through Self-Exploration 84 5.5) Seizing Youth: Capturing Today For Tomorrow 90 5.6) An Overview of the Complex and Contradictory Nature of Selfies 94 6. Conclusion 97 7. Reference List 104 8. Appendices 121 - Appendix A: Robert Cornelius’ Selfie 122 - Appendix B: Michelangelo’s Self-Portrait 123 - Appendix C: Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portrait 124 - Appendix D: Certificate of Ethical Clearance 125 - Appendix E: Information Sheet 126 - Appendix F: Consent Forms 127 - Appendix G: Interview Guide 128 - Appendix H: Individual Interview Transcript 131 - Appendix I: Small Focus Group Discussion Transcript 157 1. Introduction We are living an age of self-portraiture that is progressively being identified as the “Age of the Selfie” (Saltz, 2014). Selfies are suddenly ubiquitous and over the past few years the selfie has pushed its way into our collective consciousness. In 2013, ‘selfie’ was even declared Oxford Dictionary’s neologism of the year and was accordingly defined as: “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website” (Oxford Dictionary, 2013). One of the key reasons why selfies have become so prominent is because, as Iqani and Schroeder (2015: 3) note: selfies are not just reserved for the elite, but rather anyone equipped with a smartphone comprising a camera and Internet access. In addition, when we consider the vast amount of social networking sites that exist for users to engage with online as well as the countless innovative visual editing tools that are increasingly being made available on smartphones, it comes with no surprise that selfies have become a frequent feature in the ordinary, everyday, virtual lives of most digitally connected individuals (Iqani & Schroeder, 2015: 1). However, selfies are not simply limited to the online identities of social network users – they are also renowned for making news headlines (Iqani & Schroeder, 2015). In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama caused a media frenzy when he was caught taking a selfie with the U.K. and Danish prime ministers during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. Following that, comedian and talk-show host, Ellen DeGeneres, made news headlines in 2014 with her famous group Oscar selfie, which she captured with some of Hollywood’s hottest and most celebrated celebrities. And finally, Pope Francis established his image as the people’s pope when he allowed a group of young Catholic believers to take a selfie with him. More recently, the latest and most innovative version of iPhone software – assumedly equipped with state-of-the-art face-recognition technology – has now introduced a permanent ‘Selfies’ album in the Photos application. This means that any selfies taken by respective iPhone users are now automatically allocated and safely stored in there once they have been taken – conceivably for the users’ convenience. This suggests the fact that 1 selfies are not merely a fleeting fad, but rather a growing phenomenon that compels further exploration. As a result, this research sets out to investigate the practices involved in taking selfies and publicly sharing them on social networking sites like Instagram. Trend forecasting and analysis firm, WGSN, interestingly notes that more than a million selfies are estimated to be taken worldwide every day. WGSN (as cited in Rubin, 2014) additionally predicts that selfies now account for almost a third of all photographs that are taken by consumers between the ages of 18 and 24. Selfiecity (2014) – a global researching project that investigated selfies using a combination of theoretic, artistic and quantitative methods – moreover established that regardless of which city they analyzed around the world, women took significantly more selfies than men. This ranged from a mere 1.3 times more selfies than men to as many as 4.6 times more (Selfiecity, 2014). I consequently argue that selfies have clearly cemented their place as a hallmark of contemporary culture – especially for young women. It is however equally important to acknowledge the role that technology, and smartphones in particular, have played in the rise of the selfie phenomenon. As digital technology has become increasingly more powerful and portable, means of self-expression have fundamentally changed (Hess, 2015: 1629). Aaron Hess (2015: 1629) claims that to speak in this media milieu is to tweet, update a status, or post photographs to social networking sites. These forms of self-expression provide new means of communicating the self as well as articulating a sense of connection to others (Hess, 2015: 1629). Yet despite selfies’ recent proliferation in contemporary society, the term – and more so the actual practices of selfie-taking – remains profoundly ambiguous and contested. There has been a tendency to categorize selfies into a common visual vernacular that seems to suggest a culture obsessed with itself, and when it comes to selfies and girls, much of the conversation has been negative. Selfies are predominantly viewed and spoken about as being narcissistic, erotic and suggestive, or yet another way for girls to judge each other on the basis of looks, and to seek validation for their own appearance (Hess, 2015; Fox & Rooney, 2015; Wickel, 2015; Sorokowski, Sorokowska, Oleszkiewicz, Frackowiak, Huk & Pisanski, 2015). 2 Anne Burns (2015: 1716) accordingly argues that the online commentary about the use and nature of selfies has a regulatory social function in that there is a connection between the discursive construction of selfie practices and the negative perception of selfie-takers. However, beyond a critique of the photographic form and content, Burns (2015: 1716) notes how the online discussion of selfies reflects contemporary social norms and anxieties, particularly relating to the behaviour of young women. In other words, the knowledge discursively produced on the subject of selfie-taking ultimately supports and reinforces patriarchal authority as well as maintains gendered power-relations by perpetuating negative feminine stereotypes that legitimize the condemnation of women’s behaviours and identities (Burns, 2015: 1716). Burns’ ideas are especially relevant in an environment like South Africa, where the media climate is largely sexist and misogynistic. The media is an institution that is undoubtedly inseparable from the rest of society, and it plays a crucial role in how knowledge is produced and exists; since they constitute the collective locus where prevailing discourses are created, inscribed, repeated and normalised (Prinsloo, 2003). It is therefore apparent that gender identities are informed by specific social representations in the media (Morrell, 2001), and academics often claim that the media in South Africa (as well as abroad) tend to represent both males and females within conventional, stereotypical gender roles (Fourie, 2008: 317). More specifically speaking, the ‘ideal’ woman is typically depicted as a dependant homemaker or decorative sex object (Holtzhausen, Jordaan & North, 2011: 167). So, it consequently follows that if women are assigned problematic roles such as sex objects and dependants, room is actively created for a variety of negative perceptions to flourish (Mwilu, 2010). On the other hand, Professor Peggy Phelan (as cited in Farmer, 2014) argues that photography, and self-portraits in particular, can shed light on how we interpret such gendered images. Images like the selfie can therefore actively challenge and contest the conventional images that are perpetuated by the media. Professor Phelan maintains that the selfie creates new angles of perspective and gaze, and more importantly, promotes the idea that representation is open for the insertion of the self (Farmer, 2014). Selfies consequently allow for the inclusion of the female figure by the woman herself as well as 3