Love thy selfie : girls, selfies and gendered spaces : an exegesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Art at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis project, 'Love Thy Selfie', examines the role of the female selfie in consideration of ways we view women's bodies, both IRL and URL. Through a series of performance-based iterations, I employ a series of women to take selfies for extended periods of time, whilst performing and parodying the persona of girl as spectacle. I question whether the selfie is an act of narcissism or whether it has the power to be self-empowering. Does the self-curation of ones image have the potential to transcend the digital gaze or does it perpetuate it?