The gist of my archive revolves around finding a sociological framework that explains the behaviour of people in different communities. Our combined project goes over the representation of identities in different social environments. An example is the "offline versus online" community. My interest and part is to explain with the theoretical knowledge I have gained from studying at the Erasmus to compliment the interests of others in my group as well as my own. Personally I am interested in the different masks people need to wear when they hang out with friends as opposed to formal work environments. While also being an illustrator I will look into symbolic art to convey and address why people feel obliged to change behaviour by creating visuals that address these issues.

An interesting perspective to explain the changes in our behaviours is the sociological theory also known as dramaturgy. Dramaturgy looks at micro-interactions in everyday life. Its roots are in theatre. We perform different roles, tied to our social behaviour, which link back to our social status. A few of these roles to name some are: parent, friend, colleague, teacher, and so on. Sociologist Erving Goffman states that we are like actors on a stage. He primarily makes a distinction between front stage behaviour and back stage behaviour. We are expected to behave in certain ways. Society expects it from us. Going against what is expected will be noticed. Human interactions are dependent upon time, place, and audience.

In his book "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life" Goffman defines front stage as "that part of the individual's performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion we define the situation for those who observe the performance. Front, then, is the expressive equipment of a standard kind intentionally or unwittingly employed by the individual during his performance." We act appropriately to the audience in other words. It is generalized and common behaviour. I like to call this the formal part of our role performance. Appearance and manners are heavily tied into this as well. Goffman explains that the back stage is where "the performer can relax, he can drop his front, forgo speaking in his lines, and step out of character." This is the informal scene. This is the situation where you hang out with your friends instead of colleagues. Your actions are not judged as much. There is less of a priority to please others and do what is expected from us. We as performers are present, as opposed to the front stage where both have a strong presence. These two stages are fully separate from each other. Is this type of behaviour still common in contemporary society?

This "impression management" is then used to have others perceive us in the way we hope they will. You unconsciously act in a way you think is right for the situation. The scene in the theatre is the situation you find yourself in in reality. "Goffman’s dramaturgy ideas expand on the ideas of Charles Cooley and the looking-glass self. According to Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see. We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley believed that our sense of self is based upon this idea: we imagine how we look to others, draw conclusions based upon their reactions to us, and then we develop our personal sense of self. People’s reactions to us are like a mirror in which we are reflected." Different people will see different sides of you.

A comic with a more satirical undertone implying that if we all literally wore masks, we would have no repercussions following our actions, so we could start from a clean slate every time. Whilst shifting identities on the fly is very nice, it could also of course leave negative consequences.

Dark art is something I love to do and is thematically a subject I invest a lot of time in, so I had to make something for this project as well.

The concealment and rebirth of identities has progressively become the topic that really interests me here. When we look at others, it is inevitable that we judge them by their appearance even when we try our hardest not to. This existence has bothered me for the longest time.

My essay introduces a new problem. One that is much closer to me personally: what happens with our identities when our bodies and minds do not match? Why do we perceive genders the way we do? If only things were as easy as donning a new mask, right? In reality it sadly is not that simple. Perhaps looking at these costumes is a projected envy or longing. For the sake of anonymity most of this will be discussed in the essay instead of this site.

Visuals

A drawing I made that in my opinion captures the hopeless feeling of needing to switch behaviours between different environments represented by the different falling masks from the sky. Will let it speak for itself.

The Black Death (also known as the Plague) was the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history. Ironically we are also dealing with a pandemic right now. Both are dark times.

Plague doctors were hired to deal with this virus. They would wear masks shaped like beaks to protect them. People believed the disease was airborne, spread by miasma: a noxious form of bad air. Stuffed inside these beaks was a mixture of more than 55 herbs and other compounds. The shape of the beak was supposedly designed to give the air enough time to be cleansed by the herbs before it reached the nose. And guess what? People love cosplaying as plague doctors nowadays because they honestly look amazing.

Relevance

Sociology: non-verbal communication & our rooms

Application

I inquired my group about the main theories on identity to see where we stand:

1.) Showing your likes and dislikes is called non-verbal communication. We use likes and dislikes as symbols to shape what kind of person we are. It is important to feel that we belong somewhere.

2.) Different people will see different sides of you. Is the idea of front and back stage still relevant? Front being the formal where you adhere to social expectations (think of co-workers). Back being where you can drop the act and hang out with friends.

3.) This "impression management" is then used to have others perceive us in the way we hope they will. Our sense of self is based upon this idea: we imagine how we look to others and draw conclusions based upon their reactions to us. In other words, people’s reactions to us are like a mirror in which we are reflected.

Kelsey

1.) I agree with this, without feeling you belong somewhere you can feel pretty lonely.
2.) For myself this is really relevant in the case of having a disabled body. Even if I feel free to talk about my body, there is not always understanding, so that is why I decided to have my mask on and hide this identity. Maybe not to get judged. Or not to get misunderstood.
3.) 100% I also reference this in my essay. We see ourselves how others see us.

Emma

1.) Agree.
2.) I'd argue it's more complicated than front and back stage (think Stuart Hall).
3.) I'd argue the entire statement is correct, although I struggle understanding the mirror allegory.

Jackie

1.) Agreed in the theoretical sense, but disagreed on a personal level. I think it heavily depends on what social media you are using. Instagram for instance doesn't show me my likes anymore. Tumblr isn't really focused around likes and reblogs. At least not on how I use it.
2.) Depends really. I do not think there is much of a front stage for me personally as I tend to just be me which is something I work reaally hard on. I don't like the idea of other people influencing my personality like that. Also Stuart Hall.
3.) I'd agree once again on a theoretical level, but me as a person strives to not do that and make choices on my self-representation based upon what I enjoy. If I wanna wear two different shoes for the day, I will. I do not care all that much for social norms nor social rules. My friends like me for who I am so their approval doesn't matter to me - they should already approve and if not, they aren't my friends.

Kirsten

1.) I do believe likes and dislikes shape the kind of person we are, and influences how we see ourselves. Moreover I believe it’s more how we interpret what kind of people others are. Expressed likes and dislikes that have things in common with your own might form the basis of an opinion of another person. Having certain likes and dislikes can aid in a feeling of belonging, I attach value to this sense of belonging and especially my own sense of belonging. I used to attach my own feelings of worth to my sense of belonging somewhere, I do so less now that I’ve gotten pickier about where and with who I want to belong. I think making a conscious decision about belonging is important, and not wanting to belong for the sake of belonging.
2.) I agree with the idea that different people will see different sides of me. Being able to decide who gets to see what side of my perceived identity gives me a sense of agency. I don’t think front and back stage are relevant anymore, at least the binary division between the two isn’t. I believe there are in-between stages as well for different spaces people express themselves in now. The internet being most notable of said spaces. I feel it’s neither the front nor back stage in this context.
3.) I do think that’s accurate, not really any further thoughts.

Inspirations