sel·fie /ˈselfē/ (noun)- a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. (oxforddictionaries.com)
Pretty much everyone knows the above definition and recognizes “the selfie” as one of social media’s largest and most recent trends. However, most people don’t stop to think about what these virtual self-portraits can represent.
But the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities decided it was going to. The two-part exhibit, “The Art of the Selfie: How Selfies Create Confidence,” was created to discuss how teenage girls view their own beauty.
The first part of the exhibit was a workshop on March 25 at the East Lansing Public Library. Girls in grades 7-12 were invited to think about self-esteem and beauty in the US. They then learned from artists how to express themselves and their ideas through selfies.
The second part of the exhibit was the debut of the gallery April 27, also at the East Lansing Public Library. The gallery showcased the pieces of art that the girls had created at the March 25 workshop.
“I think this program is important because it helps show girls and women that we define ourselves and what beauty is,” says Shannon Lake, teen/lead librarian at the East Lansing Public Library. “It shouldn’t be what someone else says. With the selfie project, we wanted girls to realize that their natural selves and beauty is what people find beautiful.”
The event, sponsored by the RCAH, Project 60/50 and the East Lansing Public Library, will be on display through the month of May.
“selfie.”2014. In oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved April 30, 2014. from www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/selfie.2014.