So selfie is Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year, having, in the view of the esteemed lexographers, evolved into a mainstream term for self-portrait. Indeed. Only the other week in Russian class our teacher showed us a photograph of some shipyard workers, looking into the camera, and asked us what they were doing. Working? Striking? Standing up to corrupt communist dictators in Gdansk? No. 'Taking a selfie?' ventured one student.
The word may be newly welcomed into mainstream vocabulary, but taking a selfie is an activity with a long and distinguished history. To celebrate the word of the year, Magnum has assembled some brilliant examples of the genre.
Below is one of my own selfies, taken in the toilets of C/O Berlin.
