Presentation of the Self

Goffman - No method, no theory, no canon. Clearly a loose cannon:

On the topic of the presentation of the self, Goffman presents some interesting fodder to muse. The most intriguing for me was one that I already knew, that I didn’t know I knew, the concept of face. ‘Saving face’ or ‘losing face’ are commonplace expressions that refer to ‘face’ more or less a person’s dignity. Andrew also highlighted Goffman’s concept of social death which though somewhat dramatically labelled is similarly an identifiable idea that arose from the reading.   

As for the self, we all have roles that we need to fulfil in social situations. Right now my role is as a student blogging for this coursework, and later still as a student, getting to bed too late. Goffman’s use of the phrase ‘role’ differs from the contemporary connotations that could imply great effort is required in fulfilling such social obligations or expectations. Goffman uses ‘roles’ to denote our compliance with social norms. We can of course however choose to distance ourselves from all or one of the roles we are expected to undertake, such as an unenthusiastic retail assistant begrudgingly, if at all going about their work. It is the sum of all the various roles we play as individuals - at work, at uni or at home - that make up the presentation of the self.

Goffman also suggests that the way we act in social situations is driven by our desire to preserve the self. The expression ‘do unto others as you would have done to you’ may be a manifestation of this concept in that we act towards others in the way we expect it returned. In essence, we fill our social roles and expect that others fulfil their own.  

Good old Goffman.

Xoxo Gossip Mitch.