Week 5 - The self

This is the first sociology course I have taken and it is making me think much differently about interpersonal relations that I have everyday.  I found this weeks topic of self presentation particularly interesting because it makes me wonder why I do the things that I do, from getting dressed in the morning to staring down in class so that I don't get chosen to read a response out loud.  My favorite concept from Goffman's reading this week is that of asymmetrical and symmetrical relations.  Thinking back to high school, I remember having many levels of relations with teachers, classmates, friends, and family.  I had symmetrical relationships with my friends and many classmates, but when in front of my family or friend's parents, I portrayed an entirely different self, and participated in asymmetrical relationships.  At school we swore, bragged about partying and drinking, and often back-talked classmates and teachers.  The impression my mom had of me when I got home from school each day was entirely different and similar to what teachers and other higher authority figures thought of me because of the way I acted in front of them.  I was always aware of the different ways I portrayed myself in different social contexts but Goffman has helped me identify and understand these self expressions more critically. 

Week 6 - Life as a game

Once again, the SOC250 reading had me thinking twice about normal 'everyday interactions' that I have. This weeks reading was Performances by Goffman. In particular, I found it entertaining comparing the frontstage and backstage performances to Facebook. I look at Facebook everyday. I think most students who attend UOW can say the same thing. It's comical to think about those friends on Facebook, the ones that you have added even though you really do not know them all that well. You know, those ones you may have met once through a friend or even someone that you have shared many drunken nights with but don't actually acknowledge each other when you cross paths at uni. Those Facebook 'friends'. We all have them. You sit on your computer bored and creep their pages making critical assumptions about their life based on their profile pictures, photo albums, mutual friends and wall posts. This Facebook profile, or frontstage as Goffman would call it, portrays the person the way they want their friends, family and public to see them. There's also the wall posts and comments. When you sit on Facebook on the same photo for fifteen minutes trying to come up with a good comeback to the previous comment so that your audience (friends) of your frontstage (Facebook profile) will applaud you with 'likes'. This topic relates back to last weeks readings about demeanor and deference in that the response from your audience influences your performance.

Another topic that Goffman presented was of idealized characters and performance. I have to say I find his example of girls playing dumb to make boys like them as stereotypical. Most guys I know do not like girls that act dumb - they think they are dumb. However, I do agree that people put on roles to impress their peers or love interests. Girls may put on roles to make men feel more masculine which in turn causes him to like her more. This leads to the topics of misinterpretation and social cues which give way to some of the most awkward situations that have ever occurred.