On a daily basis, people look for visual clues to coordinate behavior with others. We look at a person’s dress and comportment to assess gender. We look at the quality of their clothes coupled with their use of language to estimate social class and level of education. These are just a few of the ways that we use our perception of an individual to determine how best to interact with them. The signs that we observe of others are founded in a “working consensus” about what each sign means. Goffman offers that these “signs” can often be contrived by the individual to present a certain image of the self to illicit a desired response.
He states that “observers can glean clues from his[the individual] conduct and appearance which allow them to apply their previous experience with individuals roughly similar to the one before them or, more important, to apply untested stereotypes to him”(1). Goffman presents that the individual has two ways in which he expresses these “signs,” “the expression that he gives, and the expression that he gives off”(2). The first of which is intended to present a particular image with a meaning that is easily identifiable by the average person. The second way of expressing signs includes behavior that is representative of the individual but has some covert intention.
Based on the interaction between the individual and the other, the one with the most astute assessment of the other’s “signs” carries an advantage over the situation. “Regardless of the particular objective which the individual has in mind and of his motive for having this objective, it will be in his interests to control the conduct of the others, especially their responsive treatment of him”(3).
This clip of a British variety show, Lil Miss Jocelyn, depicts the character Fiona having dinner at her manager’s home. She is dressed in a way that is quite generic and she has chemically relaxed hair. Her speech is very particular, free from slang and without accent (aside from the obvious British accent). Her humor is culture-free without any reference to any racial or ethnic groups. This “presentation of self” that she has created is in opposition to the responses that can be associated with speaking slang, natural hair, cultural or racial references in conversations or jokes. In an effort to control the ways in which her co-workers interact with her, she has created “signs” that distance her from certain stereotypes and negative responses.
What is most interesting about this “presentation” of Fiona is that it is always being threatened by the introduction of “individuals roughly similar” to her. Also important to acknowledge is that she has adopted this “front stage behavior” that is so fragile that any hint of the signs indicative of the undesired responses would lead to the emergence of her “backstage behavior.” It is obvious to me that this scenario intends to highlight the many ways in which blackness has been stigmatized. But also it is significant to note how some black people have created a public self that is devoid of the traits that are associated with blackness in their particular geographic location. In this case, England has a large number of Nigerians and West Indians, so Fiona attempts to distance herself from black British-ness by rejecting certain culinary dishes as well as specific cultural questions. As pointed out in the clip, to the blacks that Fiona encountered, she was absolutely black. However, Fiona’s manager really didn’t “know” that she was black. She was quite insistent throughout the interaction that “no one, absolutely no one knows that I’m black.” Her ability to accurately know which qualities were relevant and altering those qualities allowed Fiona to, at times, successfully “present” herself in a very particular way. Additionally, her co-workers were willing to accept these “signs” which added some validity to her presentation. Even though she was able to convince others to not see her in a racialized way, the fragility of her "front stage" identity was humorously evident.
He states that “observers can glean clues from his[the individual] conduct and appearance which allow them to apply their previous experience with individuals roughly similar to the one before them or, more important, to apply untested stereotypes to him”(1). Goffman presents that the individual has two ways in which he expresses these “signs,” “the expression that he gives, and the expression that he gives off”(2). The first of which is intended to present a particular image with a meaning that is easily identifiable by the average person. The second way of expressing signs includes behavior that is representative of the individual but has some covert intention.
Based on the interaction between the individual and the other, the one with the most astute assessment of the other’s “signs” carries an advantage over the situation. “Regardless of the particular objective which the individual has in mind and of his motive for having this objective, it will be in his interests to control the conduct of the others, especially their responsive treatment of him”(3).
This clip of a British variety show, Lil Miss Jocelyn, depicts the character Fiona having dinner at her manager’s home. She is dressed in a way that is quite generic and she has chemically relaxed hair. Her speech is very particular, free from slang and without accent (aside from the obvious British accent). Her humor is culture-free without any reference to any racial or ethnic groups. This “presentation of self” that she has created is in opposition to the responses that can be associated with speaking slang, natural hair, cultural or racial references in conversations or jokes. In an effort to control the ways in which her co-workers interact with her, she has created “signs” that distance her from certain stereotypes and negative responses.
What is most interesting about this “presentation” of Fiona is that it is always being threatened by the introduction of “individuals roughly similar” to her. Also important to acknowledge is that she has adopted this “front stage behavior” that is so fragile that any hint of the signs indicative of the undesired responses would lead to the emergence of her “backstage behavior.” It is obvious to me that this scenario intends to highlight the many ways in which blackness has been stigmatized. But also it is significant to note how some black people have created a public self that is devoid of the traits that are associated with blackness in their particular geographic location. In this case, England has a large number of Nigerians and West Indians, so Fiona attempts to distance herself from black British-ness by rejecting certain culinary dishes as well as specific cultural questions. As pointed out in the clip, to the blacks that Fiona encountered, she was absolutely black. However, Fiona’s manager really didn’t “know” that she was black. She was quite insistent throughout the interaction that “no one, absolutely no one knows that I’m black.” Her ability to accurately know which qualities were relevant and altering those qualities allowed Fiona to, at times, successfully “present” herself in a very particular way. Additionally, her co-workers were willing to accept these “signs” which added some validity to her presentation. Even though she was able to convince others to not see her in a racialized way, the fragility of her "front stage" identity was humorously evident.