Feminist Selfie

After Reading Ashley Farmer's "The Selfie as a Feminist Act," it became clear to me that it is especially important for women to represent themselves the way they want, instead of being told what way will most effectively sell their objectified body. Also after learning about "symbolic annihilation" from the documentary Miss Representation, it is apparent that women are most often represented in an inappropriate, physically impossible, and overly sexual way so that they feel that those are their only possible identities. Strong independent women are not portrayed leading consumers to believe that they don't exist. Although I do not see myself as a woman, I picked this picture because it represents me the way that I want to be represented. Even though people often misgender me in public and ignore my gender expression assuming I am a woman, this picture was taken by me and for me because I thought I looked great on my way to a job interview. It is feminist by definition because my input was the only thing considered in its staging and structure. Without my representation of my masculine self, I cease to exist the way I want other people to perceive me. I am a self made man and the director of my life. As long as I take the leading role in deciding how I am represented, no one else will be able to.