Date of Award

9-18-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Angela Hunter

Abstract

As the use of photography increases in contemporary society, so does the need to understand the role of self-photography as a form of identity expression. While forms of selfies have existed for centuries, technological advances provide a vehicle through which people can express themselves with complete autonomy, altering power dynamics and traditional expectations of perception. This project utilizes a multimodal, interdisciplinary framework, as it incorporates digital selfies, studio images, and written questionnaires, which are analyzed through Gender Studies and Rhetoric lenses. Twenty people participated in the project, completing nude, faceless selfies and questionnaires to reflect on their experiences. Of those, 15 also posed themselves for a faceless nude studio portrait. The purpose was to establish the confluence between intention and performance and, so doing, identify the nuanced forms of identity and gendered expression evident in the images, rather than explicitly focusing on the physical expression of gender and power binaries.

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