Glamour, Guns, And Glitter: Selfie-Empowerment and Self-Representation Online
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Morel, Annamarie
- Graduate Program:
- American Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 19, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Anthony Bak Buccitelli, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Anthony Bak Buccitelli, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Simon Josef Bronner, Committee Member
Jeffrey A Tolbert, Committee Member
Russell Frank, Outside Member
Anne Ayer Verplanck, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- photography
self-portraits
selfies
social media
digital culture
visual culture
gender
identity
vernacular photography
glamour
fashion
popular culture
folklore
influencer
beauty
firearms - Abstract:
- Since the first photographic portrait was produced in 1839, self-portraits have been a source of public interest. As everyday photography is increasingly integrated into digital discourse and social media, personal photography is no longer relegated to the private sphere, and has come to constitute a vital part of contemporary visual culture and a means of engaging with public discourse. They present a visual reflection of the sitter, the photographer, and the world around them. This dissertation locates selfies at the intersection of popular culture and folk expression, and argues that digital self-portraits are used as a vernacular visual form of communication and shapes the performance of gender. Incorporating research on twentieth-century amateur photo portraiture and glamour photography, as well as contemporary analysis of representations of women and self-photography in popular discourse, I trace the historical and cultural influences that shape the selfie in Chapters Two and Three. In Chapters Four, Five, and Six, I isolate three distinct uses of selfies as case studies to discuss the conventions and variations that emerge in publicly available and archived images on social media. Chapter Four compares glamour photography and selfies shared in Facebook beauty contests, highlighting how women position stylized glamour photography as a form of empowerment. Chapter Five investigates how women incorporate gun selfies into firearm advocacy, negotiating popular portrayals of women with guns and emphasizing motherhood and domesticity. Chapter Six examines makeup posts on Instagram, discussing the use of photography and makeup together to create visual illusions, and the evocation of authenticity and intimacy online through selfies. In these contexts, women use selfies to draw attention to the purposeful work that goes into the appearance. I contend that selfies play a distinctive role in performing and visualizing femininity online, shaping understandings of self-presentation and representation. As selfies are incorporated into everyday social exchange, they extend existing photographic traditions and forge new vernacular practices. They transform the contemporary mediascape as they become part of public discourse, constituting an important part of American popular culture and everyday visual expression.