The masks we wear...

[emily]

Having read Gergen's article on the masked subject, it persuades me to believe that we perform various different roles, depending on the situation we are in. However, who is it to say that these roles are 'performed'? I believe that we are not conscious of specifically changing ourselves to adpat to a certain situation and therefore do not perform anything. The fact that we have so many differenet masks suggests we do not have a 'firm and coherent sense of identity' and therefore i disagree with those that think it is 'pathological not to'. Does wearing a variety of masks really make us pathological?

[sianperkins89]

I agree that we do not conciously change our mask for certain people and places, but more so we unconsciously learn to adapt what is appropriate and when. For example, swearing, which we may do around friends and some family members, we would not do around employers or lecturers. Personally i do not feel like i am restraining myself to be overly polite around a person in a position of authority to me and i do not have to stop myself from saying something rude. I think that some things feel right and fine to do in certain circumstances but not in others, but we do not neccessarily keep thinking in our minds, should i say this, can i do that? We just know. However the main problem i have with the masked subject is that if we do have so many different ways of being with different people, which one is the real us? Is there such a thing as the real us? Or are we just a mixture of different levels of loudness, politeness, bossiness etc, when we are with different people? Is it all the real us, or is none of it genuine?

[07009616]

I agree with both Emily and Sian that by acting differently around different people does not necessarily mean that we are 'performing' and as Gergen claims, no one carries a single coherent identity. In his article, he uses the example of him writting letters to different friends, subsequently realising that he came across as a completely different person in each letter, consequently suggesting that he was not 'performing' whilst he was writing the letters as he didn't realise until after.
I believe that everyone's identity(s) is/are shaped by their social backgrounds, beliefs, interests, etc. People alter who they are and the way they act around different people accordingly and as Sian stated, by not swearing around employers or lecturers does not necessarily mean that we are restraining ourselves - we are simply respecting them and their statuses by having manners/ choosing not to swear

[soph218]

I have to disagree with this, 07009616  its ironic as you started by saying "by acting differently" to me i see acting as possible just be another word for perform. Just because the performance isn't overtly obvious i still believe that we perform differently in different situations. For example when i go to a job interview i see it as a performance and i put on my professional mask because i need to convince this person that i am the best person for the job.By doing so i put on a suit (my costume), i speak in a plausible manor and i rehearse my answers to what questions i might be asked (the script). By doing so it does mean that i am pathological.

[satsuma]

(mainly reply to sainperkins89)

I agree with sainperkins89 that "we unconsciously learn to adapt what is appropriate and when".
In different situation, we wear the appropriate mask which is the accumulation of experience.
So, I think all the masks together forming the real us.

To the question that "which one is the real us?" I think of 2 possible answers:
1) Since our identity (masks) is shaped by society and other people, we put on different masks in different situation.
Then our real self maybe when we stay alone,  no mask is put on for specific people but maybe a mask for the environment.

2)  smiles quoted from Gergen that 'behind the mask is just another mask' (2009, p.91). In this sense, we would have a mask to put on all the time. 
Personally, I put on a mask which is near to my true self when facing the people I feel close to and this mask is the most comfortable one.

I think the sum of 1) and 2) is the real me.

[ilikethequeen]

I think the key word is 'situation' I don't think having 'many masks' makes us pathological. I can see why philosophers and sociologists may feel that the idea of having different selves could be damaging, Erikson (cited in Gergen 1972, p.133) describes it as "identity diffusion: a state of bewilderment, typical of the young, at the lack of a firm sense of self". It's not a case of having different identities or a weak and sense of self but one that morphs and changes to fit our social setting. To take the example of swearing, if we swore in every situation, work environment, school/lectures, job interviews, it would be completely inapropriate yet, although some may say that we shouldn't swear at all, in other situations, around friends,family etc, it can be a form of releasing anger or frustration or to emphasise a point. We are still our 'selves' when we make that unconscious decision not to swear but it is one side of our 'selves' that can appear or go away, again, depending on the situation.

[gamst12]

I think in all situations that we enounter daily, a 'mask' of some sort will also be placed upon us whether or not we are fully aware we are performing a gendered act. It would not be deemed socially acceptable to behave the same way you do around your friends when with your family. The topics and free speech in which we are free to discuss when with our piers allows us to be our true selves and express our true 'identity'. This is not to say that when with elders such as parents or teachers that you are not being true yourself, it is finding the balance between being appropriate to the situation you find yourself in without altering the personality that might have got you there in the first place...

[07056267]

I am not sure if I agree with what gamst12 says about your true self is when you are with your friends because you can speak freely.  I think that you're mask adapts depending on all situations.  Desmond (1995, p. 113) says "The masked self doubles its identity, puts itself just beyond reach and draws fascination towards the ungrasped".  I think this means that your true self is always hidden behind a mask that is developed by cultural and social expectations.  I think it is impossible to know your true self because (as indicated in the Johari Window) there is always things about yourself that others know about you, but you don't know.  That said, I do not think the masked self makes all relationships fake, as "once donned, mask becomes reality" (Gergen, 1972.  P. 138).

[mgh_88]

Referring back to the origional question: "Does wearing a variety of masks really make us pathological?"

I personally don't think it does because I don't believe that there is anyone out there who doesn't. For instance,  we have seen our politicians wear many masks over the years and that may be why many of us don't feel inclined to vote in the general elections this week . From researching this topic area I have come to the conclusion that someone such as Erik Eriksson may be of the opinion that a variety of masks makes you pathalogical.

He believed that there were 8 stages to developing an identity. Each stage occuring at a different part of ones life, starting with infancy. He believed that everyone passes through these stages, and any problematic encounters along the way could cause what he calls "identity crisis".

 

[Timeless]

I never considered myself as wearing various masks according to my situation before I read Gergen. I always just considered my adaptions that I made to my behaviour were made as it was appropriate to the situation that I was in, for example, no swearing in front of my parents. I know they would not like this, therefore I do not do it out of respect for them.

I can understand Gergen's viewpoint, but at the same time, I believe that there are only subtle changes in my day to day behaviour, and most of my personality sticks with all the masks that I am meant to wear.

[fourtwenty]

I would have to agree with ‘soph218’ here. As what I gathered from the Gergen (1972) reading was that he believed that it was unlikely that a person would normally develop a coherent sense of identity. I noticed that Goffman (1990) claimed that it was normal for an individual to do so and pathological not to, although I disagree. The ever changing societal values serve as an undercurrent in shaping peoples identities. However, it is the constantly changing values of society that ultimately confine someone from normally developing a coherent sense of identity – as these changes stop and start the process which overall constricts identity.     

[Silver]

If had not read the chapter on the masked subject, i would of refused to label myself with having such a thing. To me it would of seemed almost as though i were being called fake, and not myself. However, after reading the chapter i must begin to agree that we do in fact put masks on when we are presented with different social situation. If i were to go out and party with my friends i would act in a completely different manner, than if i were having lunch with my grandparents. I also believe too that there are certain characteristic that have been imbedded in us, such as the idea of femininity, if we leave from this roles that society has created for us we are labelled as strange. We have to fit into the norm, or we will be rejected.

[badreligion]

I agree that we wear a mask at all times, and sometimes we don't even know when we've taken it off. I'll wear a different mask when i'm at uni, to when i'm at my job, then when i'm around my parents etc etc, sometimes it can be hard then to discover who your true self really is, how can something be your true self if you spend most your time not being it? Or does these masks make you who you are?

[Insurgo]

I think the point is that it's the collection of masks we choose consciously and subconsciously that make us who we are. I'm surprised to see so many people having trouble with the concept of purposefully using different masks in different situations. I think maybe a few of these people aren't admitting to the conscious use of masks due to the dishonest connotations that activity might raise. But I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. It's just another way that the amazingly adaptive species we all belong too, navigates itself around it's environment. I'm quite proud of my collection of masks and I don't see it as being in the slightest bit dishonest to use them for different social situations. It wouldn't make any sense at all to use the mask I have for my close friends whilst in an interview. They are as much a necessity in our complex social interaction as is language itself.

I do believe however that there is the potential for misuse of masks as well as the potential for their use to become pathological. Confidence tricksters and some politicians are well versed in creating and implementing masks to gain and exploit the trust of other people. Also, multiple personality disorder and variations of schizophrenic behaviours could all be seen as an example of an individual’s masks taking control of the core identity of that person. These individuals become psychologically fractured and they lose control of their masks. Other than these extreme examples though, I believe the use of masks to be an intrinsic part of normal human interaction. 

[pwaterer]

I agree, i think it is fairly obvious that we adapt our personalities and identities to different social circumstances. I have always thought though that you do not completely change who you are, you simply bring out different parts of your identity when you are in certain situations.