Goffman's Views On Personal Identity

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

When the world we live in is viewed from an anonymous, unbiased standpoint the individuality of ‘I’ has a tendency to diminish away and be replaced by a society of eyes. Who view one’s identity differently then what the individual can see. Life moves on whether we like it or not and how individuals view themselves verses how others perceive them can leave a lasting impression. Everyone has a unique identity and perspective of the world they live in. The way individuals see themselves may appear to be different than what others see in them because of different values, morals and characteristics that shape’s ones identity.

In Julie Maroh’s book Blue is the Warmest Color, the author illustrates the life and reality of a young teen, Clementine, who is starting to notice her feelings for women, as a lesbian, and also coming out. Coming out is a process which begins when we first admit to ourselves that we are lesbian.  By either acting on your true feelings or living the rest of your life a lie depends on when you admit to yourself. In this research paper I will be focusing on lesbian stereotypes, family views and how people are treated once they come out. Even in todays world, most women who are lesbian, choose to hide their sexuality behind dating or marrying a man. As well as hiding their sexuality from family and friends.

Our perception of our identity is constantly changing, the groups we belong to, the people we talk to and the way we connect with others help to form our identity. There is one thing we all have in common despite our individual identities, is the need to belong. There’s no obligation to belong to only one group, you can belong to many. An individual can belong to many groups, which will then create multiple identities; hence our understanding of identity is never constant. Belonging to a loving family, group of caring friends that help us to develop our own sense of self. However, belonging can have a negative side. For example our families might have an expectation of us to do something that might alter our ambitions and interfere with

The idea of not expecting too much led to Goffman adopting a naturalistic view of social

Goffman is creating a similarity between the way we characterize ourselves in exchanges and the way performers convey their different roles they play. Self: the “self” is a dramatic product of interaction between individuals and groups. Deference is admiration is bestowed to a person. Demeanor means how a person presents a role. Front (stage): public performances are flawless and planned to describe the circumstances for spectators like a play. An example, is getting in front of the class to give a PowerPoint presentation, or giving a speech to a group. Backstage is the area of the presentation, which usually goes unnoticed by and regulated from the spectators (Applemouth and Edles, 2012: 475). Persons are free to convey any message they wish, and they can do it in a way they would not use in

Erving Goffman developed the concept that made us understand that life is like play(drama) which has a never-ending and it involves entities of actors, props, writers etc. which involve scripts where individual acts. He further made us understands that our socialization is full of learning how to play a role that has been assigned from other people. In fact, he has brought to our understanding of a life where people act and socialize which consist of our assigned role from other people. Goffman believes that whatever we do, we are playing out some role on the on the stage of life and that comprises of behind the scenes actions and how people are being guided and directed by other individual and he named it front stage and back stage.

According to Watson and Frankfurt the phenomenon of “identification” is meant to explain a distinction between what is “more truly me” and what is less so. The “more truly me” are those desires that are internal and relate to self, while those that which are less so are

'Explore the theory of Goffman’s Presentation of Self in Everyday Life in relation to the social and professional identities and roles that people in modern day society take on.'

In “Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” he explains that there’s no true self especially in front stage situations where the individual is placed on the spot and has to act differently than in back stage situations (Goffman, 1959:114). However, he did not take note of future developments where people can shift from one stage to the other because of social media. It is true that people put on a front in social settings in order to present themselves in a certain way to avoid embarrassment but people are lately more open in being themselves and his views are subjective. That is why there is some controversy when it comes to Goffman’s views. Furthermore, in “Behavior in Public Places” and others, he analyzed that there are social norms people do, handshakes, stay a few feet away from each other, in order to avoid any threats. Lastly, in “Asylums” he explained the idea of total institution where people aren’t necessarily ill but only act that way because of how they’re treated (Goffman, 1961:26). Goffman views, them being rather subjective, does explain why people act the way they

Erving Goffman revolves his view of the human life around the belief that we are all actors who have both a front stage behavior and a back stage behavior. From an early age we have become skilled actors and move in and out of roles with precision such as with our family and friends. We follow the formal societal rules when we are on the front stage reciting a script, playing a role. This would include going to work, presenting ourselves as the person we should uphold to take part in society. On the other side, Goffman says our back stage behavior is informal, as we'd act when we are

Furthermore, Goffman also argued how people behave strategically. For an instance, I appropriate to act as a good role parent when I am with my sons. In front of them, I tend to avoid using vulgar and some disturbing words that might cause them to act atrociously in the long run. This can be depicted, as Goffman’s ritual ideal, to my demeanor where I talk, dress, and only reflect desirable qualities for my children to

The self has been considered difficult to define; ‘it is much easier to feel the self than to define the self’ (Allport, 1961, p.128). This could be due to self and identity being understood differently by both traditional and critical social psychologists. Critical social psychologists view the self as reflexive and intersubjective, whereby an individual observes and responds to their own behaviour (Mead, 1934). This approach views self and identity as being socially constructed through social interactions (Stainton Rogers, 2011). Traditional social psychologists, on the other hand, assume that there is a separation between the individual and the environment; they believe that the individual can be influenced by internal and external forces (Stainton Rogers 2011). Traditional social psychologists focus more on the cognitive processes of an individual, with a slight insight into society’s influence on an individual’s self and identity. This introductory section provides a brief overview of the perspectives that will be discussed and criticised in more detail throughout the essay, they will be critically evaluated by comparing and contrasting the two distinct approaches. To subsequently conclude, that the traditional social psychological view is too parsimonious and does not understand the complexity and extent to which the society can influence the self and identity; compared to that viewed by critical social psychologists, who place a significant importance on social

It focuses on how one presents themselves, how different situations or audiences affect this, and the different aspects involved in a performance. Goffman implies we all play social roles and adjust our performances for different people and different situations. People will act a certain manner, so that they are perceived in a way that meets society’s expectations, and however they personally would like to be seen. This theory is very relevant in today’s world, embodied through the situation of a teacher and their students in a classroom used throughout the

Goffman’s theory of “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”, a person tries to control his or