Can someone please explain to me what the purpose is of the #NoMakeUpSelfie craze that has hit social media in the name of cancer awareness? I do not understand how posting a photo of yourself bearing no make-up has any impact or effect on the fight against cancer? Does your filtered Instagram photo help ease the pain of the patients who are? Does it suggest that you can relate to this terrifying, debilitating and potentially fatal disease? Does your suggestive hide-behind-my-jersey-sleeve or alluring duck face selfie educate people on the causes of cancer? In my opinion the answer is no! Sure, there has been some posts have been encouraging people to donate funds, but what about the others simply posted with the #NoMakeUpSelfieForCancer? Cancer is such a prevalent disease. Almost everyone knows someone who has had to battle the dreaded disease, be it a friend, co-worker or loved one. It is no longer necessary to simply raise awareness. We all know that cancer exists! As someone who has studied communication and has done research on awareness campaigns such as HIV/AIDS and TB, I know that awareness campaigns should focus on educating people on the causes of the disease, ways that they can protect themselves from contracting the disease (or in the case of cancer how to detect the early stages of cancer) and should educate the masses on the myths regarding the diseases. Media, bloggers and social media users have been divided with regards to the trend. Some have labelled it a vain excuse for activism and harmful to women, as it facilitates the notion that a woman’s appearance is linked to her worth. While others have praised the fund raising efforts of the campaign and have suggested that the campaign has made it common for women to appear without make-up; acting as a positive reinforcement to encourage more women to go au naturel and to demolish the notion that women are unattractive without makeup. Kim Stephens, a journalist and cancer survivor, wrote in her blog how she perceived the selfies as offensive to cancer patients and survivors. According to Stephens there is nothing brave about this phenomenon, as these women’s’ faces remain attractive and healthy – a stark opposition to the sunken-eyed, pale, gaunt and bald face of a cancer patient who has been pumped full of chemo.
“It is self-indulgent and offensive in the extreme to those you are professing to support. I’m sure many people have been genuinely motivated by wanting to do their bit to help and if the campaign has yielded an enormous surge in donations to cancer research, it certainly has some merit. However, if it has come at the cost of making the most hellish time in the lives of women enduring chemotherapy harder than it already is, it has no virtue whatsoever,” writes Stephens.
In her blog post, Chloe Angyal agrees that the idea of comparing no make-up selfies to bravery of cancer patients is alarming, but urges that the phenomenon has the potential to be subversive. She argues that the selfies can enable women to reject the conventional standards of beauty, and that in itself is brave. Once again, I can agree with Angyal. In our patriarchal society women still have a lot of obstacles to overcome before we can truly be deemed equal, and I believe that being objectified is one of them. On one hand I do think that the selfies can facilitate the notion that women can be beautiful without make-up, but the selfies also perpetuate the objectification of women, especially the one’s of women flashing a bit of skin while lying suggestively on bed. Another recent blog post by Lauren Davidson, a British journalist, expressed similar opinions that of the trend. The author blatantly expressed her annoyance with the “smug sense of self-congratulation that seems to accompany some of these selfies”. And I agree with her sentiment. While some of the women, mostly in the UK, are donating £3 along with their selfies and nominating others to do the same they are not really making a sacrifice. After taking the selfie and donating some money they can put on their make-up and carry on with their lives. Sadly, the majority of the selfie-takers aren’t even encouraging people or informing them of ways they can go about doing so. No, for them it is all about the vain concept of posting an au naturel photo, being included in this social trend and receiving the pat on the back for their ‘brave’ efforts. Many other blogs as well and Twitter and Instagram users have also expressed their annoyance with the fact that these photos are mostly accompanied by conversations of the women complementing each other of how beautiful they look without their make-up. This to me, and apparently the other social media users, completely defeats the point, as the selfie is no longer about cancer. There is even a blog ‘How To Take The Perfect No Makeup Selfie For Cancer Awareness’, which reinforces the notion that this whole phenomenon is primarily about vanity. Samantha Jordan, a fellow blogger, defended the craze by saying that despite the criticism and lack of focus the campaign has managed raised £8 million in support of cancer:
“The media backlash (predominantly female led) suggests that the #nomakeupselfie explosion is damaging to women’s mental health, self-confidence, and is not courageous or brave. Give us some bloody credit! There’s no denying that the campaign could do with a little refining and direction, but would it have been as successful? Has it or has it not been a staggering success all flaws included? It’s just a brilliantly effective social campaign that found flight and is harnessing the power of social media for the greater good,”
Jordan makes an excellent point and I somewhat agree with her sentiments as well. Who knows if the campaign would have been successful should it have included aspects, such as the causes of cancer? Maybe altruism can only occur with some narcissism? It has certainly raised funds that can be used for cancer research. Also, donating a few bucks with a selfie is still philanthropic; we all know that life is expensive and every cent can potentially make a difference. I also know that many of my friends have also posted these selfies in remembrance of family and friends those who died battling the disease. These are posts I can agree with, as they serve a purpose – to mourn and commemorate loved ones.
