“Duckface/Stoneface” was both an interesting and funny article to read. I never knew there were articles dedicated to identifying selfie/media stereotypes. This was written in 2013 and I believe little has changed from selfie stereotypes. I really enjoyed how these stereotypes had a lot to do with gender and provided insight to not only selfie stereotypes but gender stereotypes.
One of the main claims is, “selfies and other online personal media genres used for self-presentation can be regarded as a terrain where children are audited and commented on by their peers as they together explore how to “do gender” (201). This is important because we have access to “literally” see how pre/teens explore gender through mediums such as social media and selfies to see their level of conformity and how to “do gender.”
In efforts to differentiate duckface vs. stone face. Duckface is a female stereotype that has to do with pouting lips and sucking in the cheeks. According to this article, it’s normal for girls to post many selfies, be interactive with the camera, and look pretty yet natural. For boys, you have to look unbothered, “stoneface” and selfies are not really okay, but mirror selfies are better. I believe this has to do with conserving a sense of masculinity and femininity. According to the standards we hold with social media, to conform to femininity you have to take and post selfies that align with celebrities and trends. To preserve masculinity, you have to look unbothered and not post selfies.
Of course I disagree with many of what the interviewees say but obviously, they’re teens trying to conform to society doing and saying whatever they have to, to identify such as “too much styling gel can make you look gay.”
I just started high school when this article was written. This was a couple years after instagram first started up and I believe selfies were a staple in conforming to the trends and use of social media. During this time, I believe it was truly all innocent and fun since the concept of duck face and stone face was relatively new. I believe that since this is a public forum, teens are trying to show the world what they’re like through conformity. Plus, if you were talking about someone, their social media was the perfect place to go. So in a sense, I believe this is all a “front’ that I’ve conformed to in high school because of “stalking.” I wanted to put on my best face for my school and the world to see.
