As if Facebook didn’t feature enough of them. Selfies. Over the past week, feeds around the world have been littered with even more selfies than usual. But this time, there is a ‘cause’.
The ‘No Make Up Selfie for Cancer Awareness’ campaign trended on Facebook and on Twitter using the hashtag #nomakeupselfie, first starting in the UK and rapidly spreading across the globe.
As the name suggests, the campaign encourages women to post a selfie of themselves wearing no makeup, in order to raise awareness for cancer. Women are then encouraged to nominate their friends to do the same.
Cue the onslaught on selfies – and here’s where the problems started. Many of the first no makeup selfies simply showed the lady in question sans slap, with a nomination to friends, and perhaps a depreciating comment about how awful she looked.
Unsurprisingly, this caused a number of people to ask how these selfies were in any way helping in the fight against cancer.
At this point Cancer Research UK was not affiliated with the trend. However, as opposition grew, Cancer Research UK got involved, and more selfies started to include calls to action to donate, and even screen shots showing proof that the selfier had indeed donated.
While there is no denying the trend has helped raise funds for an incredibly worthy cause – Cancer Research UK has taken in £2 million and counting ($3.6 million) – there are still some questionable aspects to this social media spectacle.
Where did it come from?
While it’s unclear where the campaign originated from, there have been suggestions that it started when US crime author Laura Lippman tweeted a picture of herself without makeup in support of actress Kim Novak, 81, who was widely criticised for her appearance at the Oscars.
No makeup, kind lighting. #itsokkimnovak pic.twitter.com/OTzTabg32Y
— Laura Lippman (@LauraMLippman) March 5, 2014
This trend was picked up by celebrities and followers of Lippman, and somehow developed into something that someone believed should raise cancer awareness.
Altruism or vanity?
There is the argument that women posting photos of themselves with no makeup is ‘brave’, which proponents of the campaign say can be likened to the ‘braveness’ of cancer survivors. However, this argument has been widely criticised.
In an article for the Huffington Post, writer Kristina Egan said, “As an ex-cancer patient, I made pretty clear early on that the ‘no makeup selfie’ had zero relevance to the experience of cancer. In my eyes, the NMS was supposed to be a move of solidarity for the people going through cancer.
“Baring yourself, exposing yourself, making you feel vulnerable, to try to understand a mere taste of the fragility that someone with cancer experiences when they look in the mirror. The photos I saw did not show that.
Mooorning! #nomakeupselfie #breastcancerawareness show your support text BEAT 70007 It's so easy! Do your bit. X pic.twitter.com/Z3ZEWUhcl0
— michelle keegan (@michkeegan) March 22, 2014
“They were still mysteriously camera ready and lacked the level of realness that the cause demanded. I commented that I would have more respect if you took one, first thing in the morning, under fluorescent hospital lights, after a colonoscopy, as it was a little more relevant.”
UK blogger Yomi Adegoke pointed to the vanity angle of the campaign, saying, “Thinly veiling vanity as philanthropy more than irks… The pretence these images are for anything other than an onslaught of ‘natural beauty’ acclamations, coupled with pats on the back for ‘fighting the cause’ makes the no makeup selfie mania even harder to stomach.”
Unwittingly backing this argument, Hello Magazine even posted an article on ‘How to perfect the no-makeup selfie’, giving women invaluable advice on how to use certain moisturisers and lip plumpers to look their best in their selfie.
Even Australian Big Brother winner Tim Dormer had something to say about it all, tweeting a photo of his backside and the following comment.
#nomakeupselfie craze? about as helpful as posting a pic of your butt. Have a laugh guys…I've heard smiling can help cure cancer.
— tim dormer (@timdormer) March 23, 2014
“Awareness is nothing if it doesn’t actually cause a change,” Dormer said. “It’s just a fickle trend, a fad. It’s really got nothing to do with cancer awareness anyway. Girls just putting up their pictures without a link or donating, I don’t think it’s causing much change.”
“This a chance for girls to self promote themselves… the selfie is quite selfish.”
Whether the selfie is selfish or not, the trend is spreading internationally, with no makeup selfie-related donations recorded at the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society and other cancer charities across the world.
Judy Lund of the Canadian Cancer Society said, “Know that you are beautiful just in the skin that you are in. And here’s a beautiful thing you can do. Jump on board have some fun. Donate $5 and watch this exponentially grow.”
The post #nomakeupselfie Altruism or vanity? appeared first on Quid.