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Exploring the Selfie

Historical, Theoretical,
and Analytical Approaches
to Digital Self-Photography

Edited by
Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth
Exploring the Selfie
Julia Eckel • Jens Ruchatz • Sabine Wirth
Editors

Exploring the Selfie

Historical, Theoretical, and
Analytical Approaches to Digital
Self-­Photography
Editors
Julia Eckel Jens Ruchatz
Philipps-University Marburg Philipps-University Marburg
Marburg, Germany Marburg, Germany
Ruhr-University Bochum
Bochum, Germany

Sabine Wirth
Philipps-University Marburg
Marburg, Germany

ISBN 978-3-319-57948-1    ISBN 978-3-319-57949-8 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57949-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017960844

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans-
mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Cover illustration: bortonia

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer International
Publishing AG part of Springer Nature
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 Acknowledgments

This book is the outcome of a conference titled #SEFLIE—Imag(in)ing

the Self in Digital Media, which took place at Philipps-University,
Marburg, Germany, in April 2015 and was made possible through fund-
ing from the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG), and the Ursula-Kuhlmann-Fonds/Ursula Kuhlmann Fund. We
would like to thank all the participants of the conference for their inspir-
ing input, ideas, and thoughts that directly or indirectly found their way
into this book. Furthermore, we would like to thank Kevin Pauliks for his
help with manuscript preparation. Finally, special thanks go out to
Palgrave Macmillan, especially Martina O’Sullivan, Felicity Plester, and
Heloise Harding, for their kind support and inexhaustible patience with
our project, and to our three anonymous peer reviewers for their produc-
tive comments and encouraging feedback.

v
 Contents

1 The Selfie as Image (and) Practice: Approaching Digital

Self-Photography   1
Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, and Sabine Wirth

Part I The Selfie in Media Theory and History   25

2 The Consecration of the Selfie: A Cultural History  27

André Gunthert

3 Selfie Reflexivity: Pictures of People Taking Photographs  49

Jens Ruchatz

4 Locating the Selfie within Photography’s History—and

Beyond  83
Kris Belden-Adams

5 The Selfie as Feedback: Video, Narcissism, and the Closed-

Circuit Video Installation  95
Angela Krewani
vii
viii Contents

Part II The Displayed Self: The Selfie as Aesthetic Object

and Networked Image 111

6 The Selfie and the Face 113

Hagi Kenaan

7 Selfies and Authorship: On the Displayed Authorship

and the Author Function of the Selfie 131
Julia Eckel

8 Competitive Photography and the Presentation of

the Self 167
Alise Tifentale and Lev Manovich

9 Of Duck Faces and Cat Beards: Why Do Selfies Need

Genres? 189
Bernd Leiendecker

Part III The Self on Display: Technology and Dispositif

of the Selfie 211

10 Interfacing the Self: Smartphone Snaps

and the Temporality of the Selfie 213
Sabine Wirth

11 The Video Selfie as Act and Artifact of Recording 239

Florian Krautkrämer and Matthias Thiele

12 Be a Hero: Self-Shoots at the Edge of the Abyss 261

Winfried Gerling
 Contents
   ix

13 Strike a Pose: Robot Selfies 285

Lisa Gotto

Part IV Displaying the Self: Social, Political, and Creative

Interventions 303

14 Selfies and Purikura as Affective, Aesthetic Labor 305

Mette Sandbye

15 The Kid Selfie as Self-Inscription: Reinventing

an Emerging Media Practice 327
Alexandra Schneider and Wanda Strauven

16 “Machos” and “Top Girls”: Photographic Self-Images

of Berlin Hauptschüler 351
Stefan Wellgraf

Index 379
 Notes on Contributors

Kris Belden-Adams is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the

University of Mississippi (USA) and specializes in the history and theory
of photography. Her work has been published in the journals Lexia:
Journal of Semiotics (2017), Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
of the South (2017), Photographies (2015), and Afterimage (2012). Essays
and book chapters by Belden-Adams also have been published by
Bloomsbury Academic Press (2017), Peter Lang Publishing (2017), and
the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2012).
Julia Eckel is Research and Teaching Associate at the Institute of Media
Studies at Philipps-University Marburg, and scientific coordinator of the
DFG research training group Das Dokumentarische (“Documentary prac-
tices”) at Ruhr-­University Bochum. Her research interests include anthro-
pomorphic motifs in audiovisual media, technologies of the self,
animation, and the temporality of film. Recent publications include:
Zeitenwende(n) des Films (2013); Im Wandel … Metamorphosen der
Animation (ed. with E. Feyersinger, M. Uhrig; 2017); and (Dis)Orienting
Media and Narrative Mazes (ed. with B. Leiendecker, D. Olek,
C. Piepiorka; 2013).

xi
xii Notes on Contributors

Winfried Gerling is Professor for Concepts and Aesthetics of New

Media in European Media Studies at the University of Applied Sciences
Potsdam. His research focuses on the theory and practice of photography,
digitality, and media environments. Recent publications include: “Moved
Images—Velocity, Immediacy and Spatiality of Photographic
Communication” in M. Elo, M. Salo, and M. Goodwin, eds., Photographic
Powers (2015); “knipsen” in H. Christians, M. Bickenbach, and
N. Wegmann eds., Historisches Wörterbuch des Mediengebrauchs (2014);
and Was der Fall ist (with F. Goppelsröder; 2017).
Lisa Gotto is Professor at Internationale Filmschule Köln and at Cologne
Game Lab, TH Köln/University of Applied Sciences. Her research inter-
ests include media history and media theory, visual aesthetics and digital
media culture. Recent publications include: “Fantastic Views. Superheroes,
Visual Perception and Digital Perspective” in J. Gilmore and M. Storck,
eds., Superhero Synergies. Comic Book Characters Go Digital (2014); and
New Game Plus. Perspektiven der Game Studies. Genres—Künste—Diskurse
(ed. with B. Beil and G. S. Freyermuth; 2015).
André Gunthert is Chair of Visual Studies at the Ecole des Hautes
Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, and a Researcher in cultural history
and visual studies. In 1996 he founded the scientific journal Études pho-
tographiques. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the
history of image practices. Publications include: L’Image Partagée. La pho-
tographie numérique (2015); L’instant rêvé. Albert Londe (1993); and L’Art
de la photographie (ed. with M. Poivert; 2007).
Hagi Kenaan is a Professor of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, special-
izing in phenomenology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of art. He is the
author of The Ethics of Visuality: Levinas and the Contemporary Gaze
(2013) and The Present Personal: Philosophy and the Hidden Face of
Language (2005) and is currently completing a book on the philosophy
of photography.
Florian Krautkrämer is Visiting Professor at the Johannes Gutenberg
University, Mainz, and wrote his dissertation on the topic of writing in
film (Schrift im Film, 2013) at Braunschweig University of Fine Arts. His
research interests include mobile and portable media, media industries,
and amateur media. Recent publications include “GoPro-Vision und
 Notes on Contributors
   xiii

involvierter Blick: Neue Bilder der Kriegsberichterstattung” in

M.-H. Adam, S. Gellai, and J. Knifka, eds., Technisierte Lebenswelt (2016)
and Birgit Hein: Film as Idea (ed. with N. Heidenreich and H. Klippel;
2016).
Angela Krewani is Professor of Media Studies at Philipps-University
Marburg. Her research interests include digital media, media art, social
and mobile media, the hybridization of media systems, and new forms of
media narration. Recent publications include: Medienkunst. Ästhetik—
Theorie—Praxis (2016); Hybride Formen. New British Cinema—Television
Drama—Hypermedia (2001); and Artefacts/Artefictions: Transformational
Processes in Contemporary Literatures, Media, Arts and Architectures (ed.,
2000).
Bernd Leiendecker holds a PhD in media studies from Ruhr-University
Bochum. His research interests include genre theory, social media, and
film narratology. Recent publications include: “Taking Split Personalities
to the Next Level” in S. Schlickers and V. Toro, eds., Perturbatory
Narration in Film (2017); Geschichte des unzuverlässigen Erzählens im
Film (2015); and (Dis)Orienting Media and Narrative Mazes (ed. with
J. Eckel, D. Olek, C. Piepiorka; 2013).
Lev Manovich is Professor of Computer Science at the Graduate Center,
City University of New York, and Director of Cultural Analytics Lab. His
research interests include cultural analytics (analysis of big cultural data
and global trends), computational social science, digital humanities, and
software studies. He is the author of Software Takes Command (2013);
Black Box—White Cube (2005); The Language of New Media (2001); and
other books and of more than 130 articles published in 35 countries.
Jens Ruchatz is Professor of Media Studies at Philipps-University
Marburg. His research covers a wide range of media (mainly photogra-
phy, film, television, and digital media) and their effects on collective
memory, time regimes, and processes of individualization. He currently
leads the project “Fragment Constellations: Periodised and Serialised
Photography (1845–1910)” in the context of the research unit
Journalliteratur. Recent book publications include Die Individualität der
Celebrity. Eine Mediengeschichte des Interviews (2014) and Medienreflexion
im Film. Ein Handbuch (ed. with K. Kirchmann, 2014).
xiv Notes on Contributors

Mette Sandbye is Professor of Photography Studies and Head of the

Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen.
She has written extensively on photography and contemporary art and
currently researches amateur and family photography since the 1960s.
Recent publications include: “Looking at the Family Photo Album. A
Resumed Theoretical Discussion of Why and How,” Journal of Aesthetics
& Culture (2014); “The Family Photo Album as Transformed Social
Space in the Age of ‘Web 2.0,’” in U. Ekman, ed., Throughout. Art and
Culture Emerging with Ubiquitous Computing (2013); and Digital Snaps.
The New Face of Photography (ed. with J. Larsen; 2014).
Alexandra Schneider is Professor of Film and Media Studies at the
Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. Her field of expertise includes
amateur film and media practices, media archaeology, digital storytelling,
children and media, and world cinema. She is the author of “Die Stars
sind wir”: Heimkino als filmische Praxis in der Schweiz der Dreissigerjahre
(2004). Her work has been published in NECSUS, Projections, Film
History, Bianco e Nero, and Visual Anthropology. Together with Wanda
Strauven, she is currently preparing a book on children’s playful interac-
tion with media.
Wanda Strauven is Privatdozentin of Media Studies at the Goethe
University, Frankfurt, and Affiliate Associate Professor of Film Studies at
the University of Amsterdam. Her research interests include early and
avant-garde cinema, media archaeology, and children and media. She is
the author of Marinetti e il cinema: tra attrazione e sperimentazione (2006)
and has edited several volumes, including The Cinema of Attractions
Reloaded (2006). Together with Alexandra Schneider, she is currently pre-
paring a book on children’s playful interaction with media.
Matthias Thiele is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at Technical
University Dortmund. His research interests include the theory and his-
tory of portable media, genealogy of the scene of recording, (inter-)dis-
cours theory, television and film studies, normalism and media culture,
racism and media representation. Recent publications include “‘Im
Angesicht der Dinge’: Ambulatorischer Aufzeichnungspraktiken und
Schreibtechniken des Notierens bei Alexander von Humboldt mit
 Notes on Contributors
   xv

Seitenblick auf Georg Forster, Thomas Jefferson und Adelbert von

Chamisso” in O. Ette and J. Drews, eds., Horizonte der Humboldt-
Forschung (2016) and Portable Media (ed. with M. Stingelin; 2010).
Alise Tifentale is a PhD candidate in Art History at the Graduate
Center, City University of New York. Her research focuses on the history
of international photographers’ organizations. Recent publications
include “Rules of the Photographers’ Universe” in Photoresearcher (2017);
“The Networked Camera at Work: Why Every Self-Portrait Is Not a
Selfie, but Every Selfie Is a Photograph” in Riga Photography Biennial
(2016); “Art of the Masses: From Kodak Brownie to Instagram” in
Networking Knowledge (2015); and Photography as Art in Latvia, 1960–
1969 (2011).
Stefan Wellgraf works as an Academic Assistant at the European
University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). His research deals mainly with
exclusion, migration, and popular culture. His publications include:
Hauptschüler. Zur gesellschaftlichen Produktion von Verachtung (2012) and
Migration und Medien. Wie Fernsehen, Radio und Print auf die Anderen
blicken (2008).
Sabine Wirth is a Research and Teaching Associate at the Institute of
Media Studies at Philipps-University Marburg, and scientific coordinator
of the DFG research unit Journalliteratur. Her research interests include
the history and theory of personal computing with a special focus on user
interfaces, social media, (digital) image theory, and the history of writing.
Recent publications include “Between Interactivity, Control, and
‘Everydayness’—Towards a Theory of User Interfaces” in F. Hadler and
J. Haupts, eds., Interface Critique (2016).
 List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Collection of animal selfies. Photographs (top left to down

right) by Flickr users Robin Zebrowski (2007, CC BY 2.0), Eric
Sonstroem (2015, CC BY 2.0), Luis Vidal (2013, CC BY 2.0),
Cat Wendt (2014, CC BY 2.0), Frontierofficial (2015, CC BY
2.0), Filip Chudoba Performance. (2016, CC BY 2.0); and by
Wikimedia Commons (2014 and 2015, both CC0) 3
Fig. 2.1 Screenshot from Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, USA 1991,
MGM)28
Fig. 2.2 Retinette’s guide (Kodak, c. 1954) 30
Fig. 2.3 Different types of selfies: (a) mirror selfie, (b) reversed selfie,
(c) front camera iPad, (d) feet selfie, and (e) front camera
iPhone 4. Photos by André Gunthert 31
Fig. 2.4 “Hi Mom”—selfie by Flickr co-founders Stewart Butterfield
and Caterina Fake. Available from: Flickr.com, October 3, 2005
(CC BY 2.0). https://www.flickr.com/photos/12037949663@
N01/48836563/ (accessed March 29, 2017) 33
Fig. 2.5 “The Me Me Me Generation.” Front page of Time, May 20,
201336
Fig. 2.6 Advertisement campaign by Cape Times that adds a smart-
phone to famous photographs (2013). Available from: http://
theinspirationroom.com/daily/2013/cape-times-selfies/
(accessed March 20, 2017) 40

xvii
xviii List of Figures

Fig. 2.7 Oscar selfie. Available from: Twitter.com (@TheEllenShow),

March 2, 2014. https://twitter.com/theellenshow/status/4403
22224407314432?lang=de (accessed March 29, 2017) 41
Fig. 2.8 Screenshot of the “Museum of Selfies.” Available from:
Tumblr.com (Museum Of Selfies), 2014. http://museumof-
selfies.tumblr.com/archive (accessed March 29, 2017) 42
Fig. 3.1 Screenshot of a Google search with search term “selfie” (April
3, 2016) 50
Fig. 3.2 Megan Koester’s articles on “Photos of People Taking Selfies,”
as published on Vice (2014). Available from: Koester, Megan:
“Photos of People Taking Selfies at the 9/11 Memorial,” vice.
com, July 17, 2014. http://www.vice.com/read/photos-of-
people-taking-selfies-at-the-911-memorial-717; Koester,
Megan: “Photos of People Taking Selfies at an Art Museum,”
vice.com, August 15, 2014. http://www.vice.com/read/the-
art-of-the-selfie-814 (both accessed September 6, 2016) 52
Fig. 3.3 Selfie of Francesco Totti (a) and selfie scene shot by Luciano
Rossi (b), as uploaded on AS Roma’s Facebook account (2015,
2016). (a) Available from: Facebook.com (@officialasroma),
January 11, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/officialasroma/
photos/a.219092088151613.52460.209630315764457/
1071810142879799. (b) Available from: Facebook.com
(@officialasroma), June 10, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/
officialasroma/photos/a.553555668038585.1073741974.
209630315764457/796767913717358 (both accessed
September 6, 2016) 69
Fig. 3.4 “Italia is Love”—Dolce & Gabbana Summer 2016 Advertising
Campaign (Dolce & Gabbana, 2016). Available from http://
www.thefashionisto.com/dolce-gabbana-2016-spring-summer-
mens-campaign/dolce-gabbana-2016-spring-summer-mens-
campaign-003 (accessed September 2, 2016) 71
Fig. 4.1 Photographic self-portraits: (a) Robert Cornelius: Photo Self-
Portrait (1839). Public Domain (Library of Congress, USA).
Available from: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004664436/.
(b) Anastasia Nikolaevna: Self-Portrait (Photograph) (c. 1913/
October 1914). Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons).
Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_self_photographic_
portrait.jpg (both accessed March 20, 2017) 86
 List of Figures
   xix

Fig. 6.1 Renana at the hairdresser. Printed with permission of the

­photographer 116
Fig. 6.2 Ilse Bing: Self-Portrait with Leica (1931, National Gallery of
Art, Washington DC) 124
Fig. 6.3 Yonatan and Dana, getting married (a) and Ilil at home
(b). Printed with permission of the photographers and photo-
graphed127
Fig. 7.1 Macaca nigra self-portrait (2011). Public Domain (Wikimedia
Commons). Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:Macaca_nigra_self-portrait.jpg (accessed March 20,
2017)134
Fig. 7.2 “Masterpiece”—Print-advertisement for the Samsung NX
mini (Samsung 2014). Available from: http://johannesdoerig.
com/Samsung-Masterpiece (accessed September 16, 2016) 136
Fig. 7.3 Collection of selfies. (a), (c), (e), (f ), (g), (h), (i), (k) Public
Domain (CC0). Available from: http://Pixabay.com;
(b) Available from Flickr.com (Caterina & Mike), 2015 (CC0
Mark 1.0); (d) Available from: Flickr.com (Image Catalog),
2014 (CC0 1.0 Universal); (j) Available from: Flickr.com
(Leann Williams), 2015 (Public Domain Mark 1.0);
(l) Available from Flickr.com (Mark Miner), 2015 (Public
Domain Mark 1.0) 141
Fig. 9.1 German chancellor Angela Merkel and the German national
team after Germany’s win against Portugal at the Football
World Cup 2014. Available from: Twitter.com (@RegSprecher),
June 16, 2014. https://twitter.com/RegSprecher/status/
478612717428019201 (accessed September 15, 2016) 191
Fig. 9.2 Two Belfies. (a) Available from: Instagram.com (iamkb,
Kelly Brook), “Mind the Gap #Belfie,” April 21, 2014.
https://instagram.com/p/nEFkBZKZvL). (b) Available from:
Instagram.com (charleslawley, Charles Lawley), “A #belfast
#selfie, or a #belfie if you will,” August 25, 2014. https://
www.instagram.com/p/sH-9cdQCG_. Reproduced with
permission of the photographer 195
Fig. 10.1 (a, b): Selfie and screenshot of the selfie act on Huawei P8 Lite
(Android). Reproduced with permission of Carolin (2016).
(c, d): Selfie and screenshot of the selfie act on HTC One
Mini 2 (Android). Reproduced with permission of Isabelle
(2016)216
xx List of Figures

Fig. 10.2 Selfie folder on iPhone 6. Screenshot by Sabine Wirth (2016) 223
Fig. 10.3 Advertising campaign for the Sony Xperia™ C4 (Sony 2016).
Screenshot by Sabine Wirth. Available from: http://www.
sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-c4/
(accessedSeptember 15, 2016) 224
Fig. 10.4 Screenshots taken from Christoph Rehage’s video The
Longest Way 1.0—walk through China and grow a beard!—
a photo every day timelapse. Available from: YouTube.com
(Christoph Rehage), March 20, 2009. https://www.
youtube/5ky6vgQfU24 (accessed September 15, 2016) 231
Fig. 11.1 Screenshot taken from dahoam Is Dahoam. Video Selfie.
Holger M. Wilhelm. Available from: BR Fernsehen/BR
Mediathek, March 6, 2015. http://www.br.de/mediathek/video/
sendungen/dahoam-is-dahoam/selfie-portraet-holger-wil-
helm-gregor-brunner-100.html (accessed August 27, 2015) 243
Fig. 11.2 Screenshots taken from (a) A World of Conflict (Jeffrey
Porter, USA 2007) and (b, c) Episode III: Enjoy Poverty
(Renzo Martens, NLD 2008) 245
Fig. 11.3 (a, b) Screenshots taken from Adolf Winkelmann, Kassel
9.12.67 11.54h (Adolf Winkelmann, DEU 1967) and Blair
Witch Project (Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, USA
1999)249
Fig. 11.4 Images from the GoPro-marketing campaign introducing the
new HERO session. (a) Screenshot from the video GoPro HERO
Session: GoPro, Simplified. Available from: YouTube.com
(GoPro), July 6, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
PjGkVCAo8Fw. (b) GoPro marketing image. Available from:
https://www.morele.net/gopro-mocowanie-na-noge-lub-reke-
dla-gopro-ahwbm-001-768563 (both accessed March 20, 2017) 255
Fig. 12.1 Screenshot taken from Brandon Mikesell’s video GoPro:
Majestic Wingsuit Flight in Switzerland. Available from:
YouTube.com (GoPro), February 16, 2015. https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=IM1vss7FXs8 (accessed September 15, 2016) 262
Fig. 12.2 Willi Ruge: “Ich fotografierte dabei ...” (1931). Available
From: Burda, Franz, ed. 1953. 50 Jahre Motorflug, 200–201.
Offenburg: Burda Druck und Verlag 263
Fig. 12.3 US Patent 4530580 A: “Telescopic extender for supporting
compact camera” (1983, 4). Available from: https://docs.
google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.
com/pdfs/US4530580.pdf (accessed October 15, 2016) 270
 List of Figures
   xxi

Fig. 13.1 Mirror reflection of Gigapan (Google 2014). Available from:

Tumblr.com (the-camera-in-the-mirror), n.d. http://the-camera-
in-the-mirror.tumblr.com (accessed September 16, 2016) 289
Fig. 13.2 Selfies of curiosity sent to earth and shared on (a) Facebook and
(b) Twitter. (a) Available from: Facebook.com (@MarsCuriosity),
March 24, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity/
photos/a.133197436730240.23875.110938085622842/7921
79500832027/?type=3&theater. (b) Available from: Twitter.
com (@MarsCuriosity), October 13, 2015. https://twitter.com/
marscuriosity/status/653998124642406400 (both accessed
March 29, 2017) 292
Fig. 13.3 Hitchhiking Robot Hitchbot (Twitter profile image). Available
from: Twitter.com (@hitchBOT), n.d. https://twitter.com/
hitchBOT (accessed September 16, 2016) 296
Fig. 13.4 (a, b) Gigapan with and without its coat (Google 2014). Available
from: Tumblr.com (the-camera-in-the-mirror), n.d. http://the-
camera-in-the-mirror.tumblr.com (accessed September 16,
2016)298
Fig. 14.1 (a) A sample of purikura sticker sheets, scrapbook, and an
image box. Photo by Mette Sandbye (Tokyo, 2010). (b) Single
purikura image of Sayaka and friend. Reproduced with per-
mission of Sayaka. (c) Purikura photo of the author, which
demonstrates the machine’s predetermination of her face as a
“Manga face.” Photo by Mette Sandbye (Tokyo, 2010). (d)
Page from Sayaka’s purikura scrapbook, where Fig. b figures in
the middle. Reproduced with permission of Sayaka. (e) Page
from Asuka’s purikura scrapbook. Reproduced with permis-
sion of Asuka 312
Fig. 14.2 “Cutie” high school girl costume found in a department store
in Tokyo. Photo by Mette Sandbye (Tokyo, 2010) 320
Fig. 15.1 (a, b) Infant foot selfies 329
Fig. 15.2 (a–e) Screenshots from selfie videos made by children 339
Fig. 15.3 (a, b) Aural and graphic self-inscriptions 345
Fig. 16.1 Collection of selfies of “Hauptschülerinnen” (Berlin 2013).
Collected and arranged by Stefan Wellgraf 354
Fig. 16.2 Collection of selfies of “Hauptschüler” (Berlin 2013).
Collected and arranged by Stefan Wellgraf 355
 1
The Selfie as Image (and) Practice:
Approaching Digital Self-Photography
Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, and Sabine Wirth

Selfies are ubiquitous in online culture: Every frequent user of photo-­

sharing platforms, social network sites, or smartphone apps such as
Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Photobucket, Instagram, Snapfish, WhatsApp,
or Snapchat is familiar with these particular photographic images and most
likely has already produced a selfie (or many selfies) herself/himself. Since
the term “selfie” was chosen Word of the Year by the Oxford Dictionaries in
2013, it has become evident that taking and sharing selfies is not just some
temporary hype of web culture. Selfie pictures are apparently here to stay
and have taken their place among established photographic practices. The
prevalence of self-images among the pictures taken with mobile phone
cameras and subsequently uploaded on social media platforms had been
accounted for before the popularization of the term “selfie”, at least occa-

J. Eckel (*)
Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
J. Ruchatz • S. Wirth
Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

© The Author(s) 2018 1

J. Eckel et al. (eds.), Exploring the Selfie,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57949-8_1
2 J. Eckel et al.

sionally (Lasén 2005, 66; Walker 2005; Prøitz 2007; Lasén and Gómez-
Cruz 2009; Schwarz 2010; Rocamora 2011).1 In this context those pictures
were generally referred to as “self-portraits,” even though the term “selfie”
had already been coined. The first documented use of the word goes back
to 2002 (Oxford Dictionaries 2013; Zimmer 2013). The rapid implementa-
tion of the new term took place in media critical discourse,2 taking off in
2012 and culminating in it becoming 2013’s Word of the Year. This dis-
coursive event is not just an arbitrary exchange of one word for another
(selfie instead of self-portrait) but indicates the public awareness of an
image practice that had long gone mostly unnoticed. In addition, it seems
to indicate that selfie images taken with mobile phones differ so much from
traditional self-portraits as to merit a proper name. It can be argued that
with the success of the new nomenclature, the picture practice has turned
from an emerging genre (Lüders et al. 2010) into a full-fledged genre that
is recognized as particular to online culture. The general adoption of the
term “selfie” has been instrumental in the popularization of digital self-
images—as a photographic practice taken up by a majority of mobile phone
users and as a topic of discourses about photography and online media.

In Search for a Selfie Definition

Despite the prevalence of the word and the ubiquitous presence of selfie
pictures, it is not so easy to pinpoint what a selfie actually is and what the
practice of taking and sharing selfies tells us about today’s media use and
media culture. Therefore, it may be helpful to start by focusing on a phe-
nomenon that calls attention to some of the specifics of the selfie by chal-
lenging them at the same time: animal selfies. At the peak of the selfie
hype around 2012,3 so-called cat selfies and dog selfies started to appear.
A number of books and calendars containing such photos even were pub-
lished (Ellis 2014a, b, 2016; Trompka 2014). These pictures usually show
the animal extending its paw toward the lens of the camera, but just a bit
off as if it is pressing the release button of a camera phone (see Fig. 1.1).
Some animal owners claim that their cats or dogs are indeed capable of
taking veritable selfies themselves (Phillips Badal 2016).4 What qualifies
these pictures as selfies is, however, that they show the gesture that is
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 which I published at the time.
9
Contemporary Review, October, 1911, p. 569.
10
Contemporary Review, January, 1912, p. 111.
11
Contemporary Review, January, 1912, p. 114.
12
Contemporary Review, April, 1912, p. 566.
13
Contemporary Review, April, 1914, p. 571–2.
14
One of my last articles on this subject appeared in the July
issue of the Contemporary Review.
15
The general strike, accompanied in places by riots, a few
months ago.
16
Contemporary Review, July, 1914, p. 122–128.
17
Daily Telegraph, July 25th, 1914.
18
Cf. Sir M. de Bunsen’s Despatch, July 29th, to Sir Edward
Grey, with White Paper.
19
Ibidem.
20
Cf. White Paper. Sir M. de Bunsen’s Despatch, July 30th.
21
White Paper. Sir M. de Bunsen’s Despatch, July 30th.
22
See White Paper. Despatch sent by Sir G. Buchanan, July
30th.
23
White Paper. Despatch sent by the British Ambassador in St.
Petersburg, dated July 27th.
24
Sir Edward Grey’s Despatch, July 29th.
25
Cf. Sir M. de Bunsen’s Despatch dated London, Sept 1st.
26
The Kaiser was then addressing his soldiers.
27
Monday, August 3rd.
28
Friday, July 31st, 1914.
29
White Paper. Despatch of British Ambassador in Berlin, dated
July 29th.
30
White Paper. Sir G. Buchanan’s Despatch, July 30th.
31
July 29th.
32
White Paper. Sir Edward Goschen’s Despatch, July 29th.
33
Literally “danger of war.”
34
July 31st.
35
July 31st.
36
August 1st.
37
Daily Telegraph.
38
Le Soir, August 9th; La Metropole, August 8th, 1914.
39
Westminster Gazette, September 22nd.
40
Westminster Gazette, September 18th.
41
Ibidem.
 Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent
when a predominant preference was found in the original book;
otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced
quotation marks were remedied when the change was obvious,
and otherwise left unbalanced.
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SCRAP OF
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