The Selfies: The Origin of Power
The word “selfie” has been a huge deal ever since cell phones with frontal cameras were invented. In 2013 the Oxford Dictionary even chose it as the word of the year, which indicates how much of importance it presents to our community. “Selfie” is a worldwide word; it is borrowed in a lot of languages today. That is why there are also a lot of arguments about its meaning for the people around the Globe. One of the hottest disputes between feminists is whether there is an empowering side to a selfie. The question they cannot agree on is if “selfie” as a twenty-first-century phenomenon is a source of confidence or an indicator of lack of thereof.
The first point of view is that selfie can enhance one’s self-esteem by making people both themselves and their audience. When a person looks good or tries new outfit, they take a selfie to see themselves from another point of view. Erin Tatum states that not only is this process natural, but it should be integrated to everyone’s (particularly women’s) “self-care routine” (Tatum, Erin). This technique, as she states, is a way for women to become the source of their own confidence. They can see themselves for who they really are and increase their self-esteem by being the outer origin of it. It is important for a woman to embrace herself as she is, and the best way to do it is to start seeing herself from two different points. One point is the person who is taking the picture (ergo, herself). The other point is the person looking at the photo (a stranger). That way a woman will not have it in her to insult herself, as she would not do a stranger, but will also know that it is her at the screen, thus enhancing her own self-concept. “Confidence is not a sign of vanity, but rather a marker of healthy self-perception and positive thinking” (Tatum, Erin).
The other side of the argument states that it is unfavorable for a woman to only value herself for her looks. The society makes her think that it is essential for a female to care about the way the presents herself; and selfie only indicates the depth of this problem. This point of view is represented by Erin Gloria Ryan and her article called “Selfies Aren't Empowering. They're a Cry for Help”. Her thoughts are entirely different from Tatum. If the first author gave selfies the role of an instrument that can increase women’s self-esteem, the second shows it as an indicator of its absence. “Selfies don't cause self-esteem to drop; they're a reflection of the warped way we teach girls to see themselves as decorative” (Ryan, Erin Gloria). By this statement Ryan stresses that selfie is the notion that changed the society in a way that makes women to feel even more self-conscious about their appearance. Physical attractiveness, as she claims …
