This Major Research Proposal (MRP) observes common characteristics among selfies taken by gay men on Instagram, seeking to understand the meanings inherent in these images; to investigate their relation to precursory media, such as analogue photography; and their historical precedentes in self-portraiture. Through the lens of the queer theory and in addition to images and interviews with famous gay Instagrammers, this article also analyses Instagram’s popular gay hashtags, as well as compares selfies with the works of gay artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland and Pierre et Gilles.