More Masks

[smiles]

I too agree with the comments above and have particularly recognised incidents where I have used this very notion of a 'mask' in order to get through certain situations to my best ability.

I however, do question Goffman's very idea that 'behind the mask is just another mask' (Gergen 2009 pg91). In contrast to Gergen who argues that we can choose when to have a mask on, Goffman argues that the construction of our identity is simply just a collection of masks.

What does this mean for ourselves? do we not have a 'real' identity, or are the mask's our real identity? maybe just a larger identity than initially thought?

[jessbeat]

I agree with the idea that we wear masks in the sense that we perform different roles in life. I am a different person a university to who i am at home. But where are the boundaries, i find the transition from being at university throughout the year to going home over the holidays quite hard. The masks are said to be healthy but i think they can create a barrier between who you are and who you want to be, and this all relates to the cultivated self.

[Millie]

Hi,

The website below shows the inicident between Gordon Brown and a member of the public.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8649800.stm

The sociologist Erving Goffman talked about social behaviour in terms of dramaturgical performance where we play out the roles given to us and we have a centre stage were we assume that we are being observed and a backstage area which we think is hidden from public view.
Those engaged in social performance have to stay in character for the benefit of the audience, essentially everyone else. Mr Brown's "bigot" remark; my slight about the interviewer - these were backstage personas.

[Insurgo]

Interesting thread, especially that last post about Gordon Brown.

It just goes to show the potential for dishonesty the use of 'masks' inevitably creates. By inventing (consciously or subconsciously) these interchangeable personas/ identities it seems inevitable it will become increasing difficult to trust anyone. Brown has supplied us with a perfect example of this with his recent faux pas.  He illustrates that one can appear interested and concerned about the issues raised by another person but, within a few seconds, one can revert to a whole different identity which doesn’t care at all.  It’s both interesting and also slightly worrying to see that the role/ identity of Prime Minister is just as easy to pick up or discard as any other mask.

[Jolin]

I have different opinion on the mask subject. I don't agree with that people need wear more masks because of it seems that if wearing too many different masks will make me to feel confused about myself. Which character is the real me?   Some people thought that they have lots of masks such as professional mask during work, student masks, a good child mask and ect. I do not think they are the real masks, they are only the attitude to express people's feelings. During work, our attitude should be serious. Most of the people have this attitude. Then I do not think it is a mask. It is only a part of our identity.

[07016311]

I do not believe we should consciously wear more masks to suit certain contexts, I believe that we do unconsciously. After thinking about the use of masks, I came to realise that when I meet a new person, I am not the same person to them then as I am to them when I know them a little better. I believe I subconsciously am on my best behaviour when I meet a new person, however once they have become my friend and I feel more relaxed around them, then I must seem like a completely different person as I joke around and push their boundaries, something that I would not do upon first meeting. However, I have realised, I am a different person in the workplace also, and another person when I'm around my family and partner. However, I see masks as a negative word; I prefer to think of it as adjusting our behaviour to the correct level of appropriateness rather than donning a new mask every time the context changes. Furthermore, I feel as if it is a subconscious action and at that, a harmless one.

[satsuma]

I think we should play different roles to self-protect from how others see.
But the roles are not played deliberately, I guess (because the words "deliberately" and "mask" sound a bit negative). 

I would interpret the "roles/ masks" as different personality and consequence after gaining knowledge.
It means e.g. in situation A, I have response A. but after I gained knowledge or experience, I may give response B to the same situation.
 
If I say the roles/ masks of  a person is came from the same personality trait. Then, does that person need to combat  the burdensome and restrictive "code of coherence"?

[sberry]

I agree with the comments made that most people are unconscious of the masks that they wear, I also just started to notice the masks that I wear myself in different situations after studying the subject. However it dawned on me that when I was growing up, I was taught that I had to behave this way in this place and that way in that place. Was this just manners, or were my parents developing my masks for me? 
This notion also got me thinking about people that are ‘two faced’. Obviously they wear a mask in front of your face and a different one behind your back and they are very conscious about doing it.  The Brown example is perfect; if he wasn’t overheard it would not have been a problem because he was wearing his ‘private’ mask which his people already were accustomed to. In this sense, I do agree with Gregen that 'behind the mask is just another mask' (Gergen 2009 pg91). At the same time, if our identity is just a collection of masks, then who are we?

[soph218]

I agree with the majority that it is important we create masks for certain situations, environments and people. However my understanding about the question that Federica first mentioned of moving away from 'codes of coherence' possible means that we should be more creative in our masks that we wear, as opposed to sticking to the rigid masks of what society expects of us (Gergens theory that masks become reality) such as professionalism in the work environment and being chatty and relaxed in friendship groups as these roles are not often deliberate and come naturally to most. It becomes more of a question of stepping out of our comfort zones and doing something more creative, wearing a mask that is not restricted to societies expectations of us. I am attracted to this and think that creating thesemasks are essential to creating a unique identity.

[aj89]

With reference to make-up, do people (girls) believe that they apply it in order to make themselves happy or do they believe they are performing their gender. To me, there seems to be a stubborness in saying that we all perform our gender. The more I think about it the more I believe that I do perform but on a completely subconscious level. As the general consensus believes, gender is socially constructed.

[Timeless]

Refering to aj89, I do believe that there are some things that we do because society 'tells' us to, such as girls should wear make-up. This is reinforcing the stereotype that girls should be desirable. However, there are men who wear make-up. An example is the goth culture. With reference to soph218 this could be an example of people changing their identity and getting out of their comfort zone. This is another mask that they could wear. This could be at a time when they are wanting to try new things, such as during puberty and they are trying to 'find themselves'. This kind of experimentation with varying masks helps them find the masks they want to keep. Personally I can see the point that Gergen is making. At first thoughts I can count 8 different masks that I 'wear'. However on deeper thought there isn't that much change between any of the masks. There are subtle differences between them, such as there is some language I use in front of my friends that I wouldn't as a daughter in front of my parents. Another is that there are certain emotions that I will keep to people close to me. I believe that this is true for everyone though and always will be.

[07009616]

I don't think anyone should purposely play more roles or wear more masks in anyway. People may not have one single coherent identity but because most of our identities are shaped by our social beliefs, interests and background, I believe that there is no need to play roles which are not suitable or even necessary to our selves.

[smiles]

I believe that Gergens idea that we should all play more roles contradicts one of the main themes to his understanding of masks. He argues that masks are not something that someone freely chooses but are rather projected onto us through the use of societal structures and norms.

More importantly, if we could so freely change our mask, then our sense of true self really would dissappear! i believe that each individual has a set of masks which we store and use depending on situations. It is interesting to recognise that we wouldn't use a mask that we have never used before, because that would result in the impression appearing fake.

[Johnny Pav]

The restrictive ‘code of coherence’ as Gergen describes it is probably quite harmful to our psyche as no one person can really act in the same way all the time. A multiplicity of masks or roles would liberate a person’s ability to act more freely and ‘natural’ as there expressive self wouldn’t be contained in such confined parameters. The ‘code of coherence’ as in relation to the ‘long-term intimate relationship’ is probably quite a destructive element as sameness and only shades of grey can only lead to boredom. 

[ilikethequeen]

In response to smiles, I think that the idea of a mask isn't an overall different set of actions, feelings and mannerisms that we completely change so I don't think by having many masks we would lose our 'self' because I think our masks are made up of many pieces and so there's bound to be overlapping and parts that stay with us. For example, as Goffman, 1990, explains "As part of personal front we may include: insignia of offiec or rank; clothingl sex, age and racial characteristics; size and looks; posture; speech patterns; facial expressions; bodily gestures; and the like. Some of these vehicles for conveying signs, such as racial characteristics, are relatively fixed and over a span of time do not vary for the individual from one situation to another."

However, I think that the number of masks that we adopt depends on our lives and situations, if one is the type of person who stays at home and rarely leaves the house they will have very few different environments and interactions, and thus fewer masks to adopt, compared to someone who is constantly on the move,travelling and meeting new people in new settings. It is that common thread, again, that society moulds and shapes us.