Be Your Selfie: Identity, Aesthetics and Power in Digital Self-Representation

Networking Knowledge 8(6)Special Issue: Be Your SelfieNovember 20151IntroductionBe Your Selfie: Identity, Aesthetics and Power in Digital Self-RepresentationDR LAURA BUSETTA, Sapienza University of Romeand DR VALERIO COLADONATO, SapienzaUniversity of RomeThis issue ofNetworking Knowledgeinvestigates the practice of the “selfie”, one of the most significant phenomena in the current mediascape. Selfies are a notable example of how the interaction between social networking and recent forms of visual self-representation is reshaping traditional notions such as subjectivity, privacy, and celebrity, among others. As part of the contemporary diffusion of amateur visual culture via personal devices –among which, mobile integrated cameras are arguably the most relevant –selfies contribute to the global circulation of personal images. Their popularity can be related to other trends dating back to the last decades of the twentieth century, such as the rise of artists and photographers who focused their work mostly on self-portraiture. As far as amateur production is concerned, personal images used to circulate among the relatively homogeneous community of the author's (digital) friends in social networking websites, but since selfies have turned into an object of global public consumption, the ideological mechanisms of celebrity culture have been activated. Thus, selfies have also become a recognizable item in the self-branding activities carried out by public figures: they are a well-integrated part of the media strategy of political leaders and entertainment personalities. This issue aims to contribute to the analysis of such phenomena by adopting two different, yet auxiliary, perspectives: on one hand, the debate on self-representation developed in the tradition of visual studies, and in relation to the history of the arts and photography; on the other hand, an approach based on cultural studies, which aims to highlight how power relations and socially sanctioned forms of “identity” are inscribed in the production and circulation of selfies.