Beyond Prejudice, Toward Shared Experience: Hearing the Real Stories of Women Who Photograph Themselves Seamlessly Natural Now that the influence of social media has expanded, Instagram is a space that most clearly demonstrates how visual images are used for display and the capitalization of fame. Influencers who became famous there enjoy popularity and influence comparable to celebrities, and whether something is Instagrammable has become an important consideration in choices across every

I discovered a book that felt so fresh and interesting, from its title through its subtitle. “Seamlessly Natural: The Joy, Anxiety, and Desire of My Photos Taken Because I Like Taking Them.” Although I am not someone who enjoys selfies, on special days, days I want to commemorate, days my makeup turns out well, or days I wear pretty clothes, I record them in photos. There is no special reason; it is simply an extremely natural behavior, as it has been for a long time, and probably most women my

“Seamlessly Natural” — Hwang Eui-jin. *This book was provided by the publisher.* If asked whether I am someone who likes selfies, I can clearly say no. I have heard that people who put their own photo on their chat profile are said to have strong self-love; that they are people who can give themselves a high score for being satisfied with their appearance rather than for self-love. In my case, I have run a blog for more than ten years, making me a (timid) attention-seeker, but I do not post my

This book starts from the perspective of women who take photographs, which I was most curious about but found hard to understand. / p. 9 I tend to like taking photos so much that when I see something good, I automatically reach for my camera. Most of my subjects are natural scenes such as planes flying through the sky or birds looking for food on a lawn, though I also take pictures of people around me. I photograph my family on trips or people I know. These days, when the weather is this nice,

/(...) Self-photos are special because, beyond grand meanings or important events, they capture reflections on “each fleeting moment.” Self-photos hold onto feelings and emotions that arose briefly in the past and awaken them in the present me. The “meaningless” habit of taking self-photos is connected to the present desire to continually summon small past feelings. (...)/ In this era, when we never let go of our phones wherever we go, social media cannot be left out, and its influence reaches

A woman in her late twenties who takes several hundred shots to get one good photo says that taking pictures is not simply a means of expressing herself. She confesses that she photographs herself while recalling the friends, places, and memories they shared, not only from a narcissist’s point of view. The idea that often she simply takes photos without focusing on expressing or revealing herself was also a surprising perspective. If she takes them without thinking, she can use the photos to

I had great expectations when I saw its attractive cover, the author’s research history on the book jacket, and the introduction saying it dealt with women taking photos. The book begins with the writer asking why women born from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s take photos, edit, retouch, select, and upload them to social networks so they look good. Interviews with research participants, conducted according to anthropological research methods, are presented across five chapters. Each chapter

It felt like analyzing a dissertation, bringing back vividly the days of my master’s and doctoral studies—a new feeling. Would you believe it if I said it even made my heart flutter a little? Anyway, this is my fifteenth book this year, #SeamlesslyNatural. I too really like taking pictures. On a one-night, two-day trip, I take at least two or three hundred. When traveling with friends, I think about the background colors at the destination and set a dress code for my travel companions. Mainly