Ojectification of Both Genders through Selfies

In a New York Times article Dan Zak discussed the new addiction and preoccupation our generation has with taking “selfies” and the constant posting of these images to the internet. The use of Facebook and Instagram has been overridden by selfies and an indulgence for people to feel self worth and has created a new way to conform to society. In the article psychologist Sarah J. Gervais was quoted saying “Such portraiture on social media is as good for self-empowerment as it is for self-objectification” (2013). The term “selfie” has become so popular in the past few years that it has been made Oxford’s word of the year with a 17,000 percent increase since last year giving us a new way to label our fascination with the self (Zak, 2013). The author speaks about our societies new obsession with the self and how selfies allow us to share every detail of our lives and express the worth we find in ourselves and others. There were two perspectives in this article, one being that selfies are a new way to conform to our narcissistic society and two, that Instagram offers resistance to the pressures to be perfect from traditional media. Related to the present article our class discussed the topic of sexism and the impact gender microagressions has on both genders. Looking at this article and the course material there is much overlap between the restrictive gender roles, denial of sexism, sexual objectification, and benevolent sexism when looking at the use of selfies and what they mean for men and women.

The present article relates to the discussion of the objectification of both genders, but mainly on men and women’s self expression and females attempt to escape from the pressures of gender microaggressions. With the new forms of social me...

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...these images being posted by the minute.

There were two perspectives in this article by Dan Zak, one being that selfies are a new way to conform to our narcissistic society and two, that Instagram offers resistance to the pressures to be perfect from traditional media. I agree with the perspective, that selfies are a new way of conforming to our society and openly objectifying and placing gender role stereotypes on both genders. Looking at this article and the course material there is overlap between the restrictive gender roles, denial of sexism, sexual objectification, and benevolent sexism when looking at the use of selfies and social media. Our society has become so accustomed to restrictive gender roles that new generations are telling each other what they see as perfect and pressure each other to become these sexual objects and give into benevolent sexism.