Emily Hannak - Selfie Response

Regarding Jessica Leigh Maddox’s Fear and Selfie-Loathing in America: Identifying the Interstices of Othering, Iconoclasm, and the Selfie, she makes multiple valid arguments in defense of her point that selfies make oneself selfish and brings most negatively. While I agree that the culture surrounding the selfie fosters vanity and puts unnecessary emphasis on the materialistic aspect of a narcissistic attitude, I do disagree with the rather patronizing tone that she uses to establish her argument. She emphasizes the critique of the selfie more so than the admiration. In my opinion, any article or professional essay that takes on the challenge of addressing ant issue should dutifully regard both sides of the argument equally. An author should provide the facts from both sides equally when covering a topic in which he or she doesn’t completely take one side or the other. They should make their point clear and concise. Regarding the article, I agree wholeheartedly with the notion presented by Maddox that selfies foster a certain level of narcissism. Granted, self portraits portraying oneself as wealthy and attractive have been around throughout history, but never at such an “epidemic” like level (26). Statistically it is true that women or LGBT people will tend to make more selfies; this can be proven by simply scrolling though Instagram and taking down tally marks of whose selfies you see and compare them. In my opinion, these individuals create their selfies out of  a selfish need, as Maddox’s first argument states. Typical selfies are primarily taken out of a personal need to feel validated by other peoples’ opinions and comments, not really to make a statement or a type of art. The author brings up an interesting topic regarding iconophobia. Maddox discusses that society may fear the power of a selfie, and that therefore allows the excuse for criticism (42).  This addresses the argument of vanity versus body positivity, which I found to be very intriguing. That was where I began to have my views blurred, but not totally changed. I began to disagree with the more patronizing statements, such as labelling the minorities that predominantly take selfies as “Others”. These seems to take demonizing selfie takers to too high of a degree, and completely out of context would be considered highly offensive or politically incorrect in reference to women, LGBTQ members, and racial minorities. Conclusively, it’s a well argued essay and a fairly engaging read, even despite her rather back and forth stance on the modern age of the selfie.