Sociologist Erving Goffman (1959) discussed some relevant concepts in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life such as performance, front, dramaturgical self, and impression management. Performance means that there is any sort of event where other people are watching the individual and this observation of the individual influences how the individual acts (Goffman 1959: 22). This is an altered performance and Goffman labelled this as the ‘front’ (Goffman 1959: 22). The term dramaturgical self means the practice of highlighting an aspect of the individual self that is usually hidden on a normal basis in order for others to see it (Goffman 1959: 30-31). And the final term outlined in Goffman’s book is impression management, which is when people …show more content…
Goffman described this information control as being at the core of one’s life and probing each situation debating whether “to tell or not to tell, to let on or not let on, to lie or not to lie, and in each case, to whom, when, and where” (Goffman 1963: 42).
Namaste’s (2000) chapter ‘Gender Bashing’ in Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transsexual and Transgendered People discusses the issue of safety for transgender individuals thoroughly. Individuals who are unable to pass during their transition are at risk of bashing because of their non-conforming appearance (Namaste 2000: 136).The author warns that individuals who live outside society’s rigid categorization of male and female are at risk of assault (Namaste 2000: 136). Transgender men are at risk when their gender is not easily identifiable by others within society which makes passing a necessity in order to avoid risk of discovery (Namaste 2000: 144). This instills a driving motivator for transgender men to define their masculinity within the gender binary that society has defined for them and pass within
The medicalization of transgender tendencies, under what was Gender Identity Disorder, was demoralizing to all transgender people. This resulted in a form of structured and institutionalized inequality that made an entire group of people internalize their problems, making them question not only their own identity, but also their sanity. Therefore, the removal of this disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 2013 and the newest editions was important in that it shows society’s recognition and acceptance of the transgender
In certain countries such as the U.S, people discriminate against others to a certain extent based off their gender, race, and sexuality. Butler states that “to be a body is to be given over to others even as a body is “one own,” which we must claim right of autonomy” (242). Gays and Lesbians have to be exposed to the world because some of them try to hide their identity of who they truly are because they are afraid of how others are going to look at them. There are some who just let their sexuality out in the open because they feel comfortable with whom they are as human beings and they don’t feel any different than the next person. The gender or sexuality of a human being doesn’t matter because our bodies’ will never be autonomous because it is affected by others around us. This is where humans are vulnerability to violence and aggression. In countries across the globe, violence and attack are drawn towards tran...
Many transgender people lived in dysfunctional families when they were young. The support becomes vital for the wellbeing of kids. In her book Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, recaps the importance of support from Michelle his cousin, who kept in secrets of gender dysphoria of Charles (Keisha) by saying “‘Pinkie –swear you won’t tell your mom’…She’d keep the secret my secret because I was her favorite cousin” (Mook 76). Michelle, kept Keisha’s secret by allowing her to use her swimming clothes. Michelle shows the importance of support from relatives. This is a fundamental factor that might help with the development of her gender identity. Many transgender people may feel a relief at the time to disclose their identity. When transition is in progress the support from friends and families becomes important because, many transgender people might suffer if they lack support. Many transgender people seem depressed because they are rejected by society. Janet Mock, relates how Wendi, support Charles, by making him feel comfortable, saying “Wendi and I grew inseparable trough middle school, a bond that would link us for the rest of our lives. Through association, my class –mates learned that I was like Wendi-who hadn’t yet adopted any labels to describe her shifting self” (Mook 107). In most cases transgender people’s acquaintances can be referred as transgender people just by friendship. The association makes transgender people to gain confidence about their gender identity. The support from groups or friends makes transgender people feel that they are accepted and not alone. Support from friends might urge transgender people to come out the “closet” and reveal their gender identity to gain respect among society. The support from friends is important, but family support seems to be the most important. When families do not support transgender people it causes a hostile environment that may suppress
In this article, Shaw and Lee describe how the action of labels on being “feminine” or “masculine” affect society. Shaw and Lee describe how gender is, “the social organization of sexual difference” (124). In biology gender is what sex a person is and in culture gender is how a person should act and portray themselves. They mention how gender is what we were taught to do in our daily lives from a young age so that it can become natural(Shaw, Lee 126). They speak on the process of gender socialization that teaches us how to act and think in accordance to what sex a person is. Shaw and Lee state that many people identify themselves as being transgendered, which involves a person, “resisting the social construction of gender into two distinct, categories, masculinity and femininity and working to break down these constraining and polarized categories” ( 129). They write about how in mainstream America masculinity and femininity are described with the masculine trait being the more dominant of the two. They define how this contributes to putting a higher value of one gender over the other gender called gender ranking (Shaw, Lee 137). They also speak about how in order for femininity to be viewed that other systems of inequality also need to be looked at first(Shaw,Lee 139).
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday Anchor Books.
One of the key ideas to Goffman is his idea of impression management. Through interaction with others in society, an impression of ones self is given off to others. This is automatic and inevitable. The way one perceives you is through this social interaction. This means that through messages that are given off, whether intended or unintended, they are the judgments by which people will hold their opinion of you (Layder 1998:172-175).
Gender Outlaws (Smith, 2010) breaks the laws of gender by defying gender normative rules that exclude trans, queer and other non-conforming gender expressions often oppressed by “gender-norming rules,” rules, “expected to observe” or be subject to ridicule and often times labeled as freak by those who consider themselves as normal (p. 28). A gender outlaw seeks to, redefine the notion of gender and are carving out spaces of their own” (p. 30).
An abundance of transgenders are finally identifying as their true gender in our generation. In fact, in the United States alone, there are 700,000 transgenders (Gates 2011). However, our generation isn’t welcoming these true identities, but shaming them. Though, it is incredible that slowly the idea of transgenders is becoming more acceptable, the amount of hate and harassment these human beings receive is unacceptable. Human beings, that is what they are, right? This leads to the next question. Why is our generation shaming something we are? Human beings, right? As we are all human beings, we shouldn’t be treating transgenders as if they are a different species. Many argue that these individuals
Adopted into sociology by Erving Goffman, he developed most terms and the idea behind dramaturgical analysis in his 1959 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This book lays out the process of human social interaction, sometimes called "impression management". Goffman makes the distinction between "front stage" and "back stage" behavior. “Front stage" actions are visible to the audience and are part of the performance. We change our hair color, eye color, complextion. Wearing make-up, the way our hair is styled, the clothes we wear. The demeanor we present to the world to the. All of these things lead to an outward appearance of what we want others to think we are. People engage in "back stage" behaviors when no audience is present. We whine and moan about the customers we deal with. Hair goes un-styled, make is wiped off. Clothing is comfortable and unrestricting. When a person conducts themselves in certain way not consistent with social expectations, it is often done secretly if this ...
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
In his work, Goffman explains that ‘the self’ is the result of the dramatic interaction between the actor and the audience he or she performs to. There are many aspects of how an individual performs his or her ‘self’. One of the aspects of performing the self that Goffman labels as the ‘front.’ The front involves managing the individual’s impression.
How we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. Throughout the interview I knew that the way I interacted within the group would determine whether or not I would be able to study as a student nurse. Subsequently, I wanted to appear socially desirable. Therefore, I believe there was a distortion of self-image because the interview was very important to me. Using Goffman 's theory of self (1959), the 'social mask ' I put on during the interview, could be seen as 'performance ', '...the term ‘performance’ refers to all activity of an individual in front of a particular set of observers, or audience... ' , I wasn 't my: bubbly, hyper self, I felt I had to keep this hidden as I was in a professional environment. Therefore, Johari 's window demonstrates mundane realism, because my self-image did change. My bubbly, hyper personality which is usually 'open/public ' was now 'Hidden/private '. However, Johari 's window see 's self-awareness constructed by the individual alone, which makes the theory over –simplified and not interactionist as it only considers 'nurture ' factors impacting on an individual’s self-awareness, when in reality it’s a combination of biological/genetic and social factors (nature nurture). Therefore the theory is reductionist as it over simplifies human behaviour. Although Johari 's window doesn 't give a holistic reflection for my own self-awareness and communication, the fact I can identify this as a result of using Gibb’s model means that I have a rounded analysis of my interviewing
Erving Goffman uses a dramaturgical perspective in his discussion of impression management. Goffman’s analysis of the social world primarily centres around studies of the self and relationship to one’s identity created within a society. Through dramaturgy, Goffman uses the metaphor of performance theatre to convey the nature of human social interaction, drawing from the renowned quote “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players” from Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It.’ Much of our exploration of Goffman’s theories lies within the premise that individuals engage in impression management, and achieve a successful or unsuccessful performance. Impression management refers to the ways in which individuals attempt to control the impression that others have of them stemming from a basic human desire to be viewed by others in a favourable light. Goffman argues that our impressions are managed through a dramaturgical process whereby social life is played out like actors performing on a stage and our actions are dictated by the roles that we are playing in particular situations. In a social situation, the stage is where the encounter takes place, the actors are the people involved in the interaction, and the script is the set of social norms in which the actors must abide by. Just as plays have a front stage and back stage, this also applies in day-to-day interactions. Goffman’s theory of the front and back stage builds on Mead’s argument of the phases of the self. The front stage consists of all the public and social encounters with other people. It is similar to the ‘me’ which Mead talks about, as it involves public encounters as well as how others perceive you. Meanwhile the back stage, like the ‘I’, is the time spent with oneself reflecting on the interactions. Therefore, according to Goffman’s dramaturgical
Goffman, E. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Double Day
Transgender women face just as much misogyny as cisgendered women, and often times more. “The worst insult for a boy is that he acts ‘like a girl.’ In a transmisogynistic society, being trans is punished and being feminine is punished, but nothing is punished more than the femininity of people who are not ‘supposed’ to be women,” concurs Max Thornton, a journalist at Advocate (Thornton). This is just one example of the misogyny and stereotyping that trans women face on a daily basis. People’s ideals of hypermasculinity nowadays creates even more of a stigma against these women than there might be otherwise. Even more so than there is for trans men, as Kortney Ziegler, another jou...