My city, my body, my selfie: self-representation of young women as self-care in the city of Cardiff

Ntzani, Dimitra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9798-8873, Mygdali, Styliani and Capelao, Antonio 2025. My city, my body, my selfie: self-representation of young women as self-care in the city of Cardiff. Presented at: Association of Architectural Educators (AAE) 2025 conference, Bristol, UK, 9-12 July 2025.

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Abstract

Abstract for 3000-word essay In The History of Sexuality, Vol. 3 Michel Foucault talks about “The Care of the Self” as a tool for self-knowledge and ethical development in Greco-Roman antiquities (Foucault, 1988). In his study of historical processes of self-care, personal storytelling is a means of empowerment and negotiating self-presentation. Contrary to self-care as an individualistic habit or privilege, Foucault sees self-care as inherently relational and interconnected with truthfulness (pareisia). From a feminist perspective and a very different sociopolitical context, queer theorist Audre Lorde defines self-care as an act of defence against racist and patriarchal cultures. Weaving 20th-century philosophies of self-care, this paper discusses the self-representation of teenagers who identify as female in the social media realm as an act of self-definition and defence in their familiar urban context. Young teens who identify as female frequently use social media platforms to create selfie photos or short videos, showcasing playfulness, discontent or provocation. These self-portraits are then distributed swiftly within their online communities before disappearing. The fleeting selfie culture confirms or challenges normative perceptions of the female body in urban spaces, exposing both its strengths and vulnerabilities. In the “My City, My Body, My Selfie” AHRC-funded workshop, we encouraged teenagers who identify as female to reflect on and re-create ephemeral self-portraits and carefully stage them against public landmarks, streets, or venues of their choice, using analogue or digital collages as means of expression. Photo collages were used as distorted mirrors and visual manifestos of young women's restrictions and opportunities in their familiar built environment. The paper reports on the process and outputs of a developing research project, which evolves as a series of public workshops for young women in the frame of Cardiff Rights Fest (2023) and later AHRC Being Human Festival (2024).. By weaving theoretical perspectives on self-representation as care for the self and an act of radical self-awareness and resistance, the paper reflects on young women’s relationship with their bodies and the city of Cardiff but also on the empowering potential of creative/critical and eventually self-caring representations. Link: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/my-city-my-body-my-selfie-closed-event

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Architecture
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 June 2025
Date of Acceptance:	16 April 2025
Last Modified:	27 Jun 2025 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179340

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