In Defense of the #Selfie

 I've never been big on the #selfie. Part of it is that I don't particularly like photos of myself. Part of it is that I've often felt like they were screams of "look at me!" Part of it, honestly, is the word. What an awful word to my writer's ears.No one was more surprised than I was, on January 1 to see me participating in a year-long selfie project, then, dubbed #365feministselfie. I saw the hashtag on a friend's photo, and followed it to @veronicaeye's profile, and from there to a link on her blog explaining the project.The idea is that the selfie has been under fire as a cry for help, emblematic of the growing narcissism of our always-on, maybe-too-social society. My friend Nick then sent me a post that basically said if you're posting selfies, that says a lot about your mental state - and nothing too good, either.At the start of this project, I got some snide comments from folks about if I was going to be posting "look at me!" photos everyday or that it would be a better use of time to post photos of other people and not ourselves. And you know what? That's fine. The folks who felt that way are completely entitled to their opinions.But they miss the point: There is nothing wrong with snapping a photo of yourself and posting it. It's the modern equivalent of the self-portrait. And where would we be without the famous Van Gogh, Norman Rockwell and other self-portraits of the greats?I am by no means comparing myself to the greatest artists of Western history, mind you. My point is that selfies are not new. Rich people hired artists to paint them. Poor students have always been willing to pose (nude, even) for artists. When I go back through photos of my family, I find far fewer of me than anyone else, primarily because I'm the family photographer. I'm always taking the photos and am only occasionally in them.Also the point of this project: We're forever surrounded by images of photoshopped, unblemished, unnaturally perfect women. On television, in movies, on magazine covers. It's hard to want to take a photo of yourself when you see that pimple on your temple or the crows feet next to your eyes or those grey hairs that are becoming more prominent. It's hard to want to take a photo of yourself when that shadow makes your butt look bigger or your double chin look triple or your perfect hips look imperfect.It's not about taking unglamorous photos of ourselves - it's about being ourselves and accepting ourselves as we are. I've grown far more comfortable about taking photos of myself as this month has gone on. I'm still not thrilled all the time, though, and have skipped occasional days. I took it upon myself, however, to aggregate the photos into a Flipboard magazine, and it forces me to flip through everyone's pictures every day and see how much alike - and how different - we all are.

Some of the images are marvelously creative. I especially love what Melissa Pierce is doing each day, using her artistic eye to redefine what a selfie is.Some are close-ups. Some are with child. Some are disembodied hands or feet. Others are of or in workplaces, at home, in the car, on transit. With meals, drinks, grooming. In bed, going to bed, waking up. With loved ones, alone. Historical shots of ourselves. A peek into our bookshelves. Some are quite young. Others of us, notsomuch. Some are glammed up and ready for a night on the town. Others haven't brushed their hair, maybe in days. Bald, pierced, tattooed. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic.We're all there. We may not be perfect, but this project reminds us we don't have to be perfect. No one, in fact, is perfect. Not even the perfect people.I look through my fellow #365FeministSelfie participants each day and see so many women I have lots in common with, and an equal number I have nothing in common with other than the hashtag. But nearly all are women I'd never have seen if I hadn't joined in.The project is a love letter to women. A way to remind us that no one can bring us down if we don't let them.I don't think any of those participating in the project are doing it out of narcissism. Sure, it's nice when my friends click "like" on the photos. But I don't wonder why someone didn't when they don't. They didn't see it, or maybe they didn't like it. That's fine. I haven't liked all the photos I've published, either.That's not the point.Screenshot from my #365FeministSelfie Flipboard magazine - clockwise from left - @tuesdayselfies, @ezadjura, @stayathomepundit, @bekaboomn, @marisa_onlineempowerment & @njorgy.