Goffman Social Structure
Culture and social structure are very powerful aspects in today’s society. “Culture is the beliefs, customs, and arts, of a particular society, group, place, or time,” (Merriam-Webster, 1995-2014). “Social structure is the social organization of a society constituting an integrated whole,” (Merriam-Webster, 1995-2014). Culture and social structure have influenced people’s behaviors significantly to the point where we are able to see exactly how we are affected by it daily.
In Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, he introduces what is to be called the dramaturgical approach. He used the theatrical representation of stage, actors and audience to observe and analyze the complexities of social interaction. Goffman’ article …show more content…
states that from this viewpoint, what we call our “self” is made up of the several roles that people play, and a main goal of social actors is to present their various selves in ways that create and sustain particular impressions to their different audiences (Goffman, 1959, Pg. #138). According to Goffman we are like actors putting on a performance for an audience in the way that we present ourselves in various social scenarios. Our social setting is where most interactions occur. How we decorate our surroundings, or what “props” we use, also gives us clues as to how we want people to think of or perceive us. When people decorate, clean up, or lay out nice things around their house, they are using props to convey information about how they want others to see them. Our appearance also says a lot about us. People’s first impressions are usually based almost entirely on appearance. The clothing we wear tells others, whether we are rich or poor, and how we take care of ourselves. People commonly make assumptions about a person’s personality and character based solely on the clothing he or she is wearing. By looking at Goffman’s approach we can understand more clearly why people behave the way they do in social environments. In Natalie Adams and Pamela Bettis book, Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood, they talk about the study done to prove whether or not cheerleading is a cultural icon or if it exploits and demeans young girls.
“The function of the cheerleader is to encourage the worship of the men—the prettiest, nicest and most lively are selected to show and encourage adoration,” (Weis 1997, Pg. #83). In this study Adams and Bettis try to offer an insight into cheerleading that shows the variety of meanings rooted in the culture of the sport. During the mid-late 1800’s and early 1900’s cheerleading was specifically for males, and females did not begin entering collegiate cheerleading until the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. Women were mostly excluded from cheerleading until the 1930s. An early opportunity to join cheerleading squads appeared when large numbers of men were deployed to fight World War I, leaving open spots that women were more than happy to fill. When the men returned from war there was an effort to push women back out of cheerleading (some schools even prohibited female cheerleaders). The debate over whether or not women should be cheerleaders went on for several decades, but eventually women began to dominate it during World War II. Back then it was culturally acceptable for men to be cheerleaders and not women, but as time went on and men started to get preoccupied with war, women began to rule the sport thus the social structure was changed leaving women to be the dominant of the
sport. In Eric Anderson’s article Orthodox and Inclusive Masculinity: Competing Masculinities among Male Cheerleaders, he talks about how when we think of the word “cheerleader”, it conjures an image of a preppy school girl, with a huge smile, short skirt and Pom Pom’s. We also think of a ditzy blonde who is enthusiastic, feminine and more often than not attractive (Anderson, 2005, Pg. #173) Because of these stereotypes, when we hear of someone being a male cheerleader it seems wrong or unnatural, and that they aren’t as masculine as men who play football, baseball or other “masculine” sports. There are core requirements of American Masculinity which include no sissy stuff, being a big wheel, being a sturdy oak and giving them hell. These four rules are important to understanding the construction and stratification of masculine power and privilege (David and Brannon, 1976, Pg. #174). Different groups of men disagree with what is truly masculine vs. feminine and some even find their sexuality scrutinized because they are a part of this sport. Society has gone from praising men who do cheerleading, to questioning them about their sexual orientation, and culturally it has gone from being a predominantly masculine sport, to a more feminized terrain.
In Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, he introduces what is to be called the dramaturgical approach. He used the theatrical representation of stage, actors and audience to observe and analyze the complexities of social interaction. Goffman’ article …show more content…
states that from this viewpoint, what we call our “self” is made up of the several roles that people play, and a main goal of social actors is to present their various selves in ways that create and sustain particular impressions to their different audiences (Goffman, 1959, Pg. #138). According to Goffman we are like actors putting on a performance for an audience in the way that we present ourselves in various social scenarios. Our social setting is where most interactions occur. How we decorate our surroundings, or what “props” we use, also gives us clues as to how we want people to think of or perceive us. When people decorate, clean up, or lay out nice things around their house, they are using props to convey information about how they want others to see them. Our appearance also says a lot about us. People’s first impressions are usually based almost entirely on appearance. The clothing we wear tells others, whether we are rich or poor, and how we take care of ourselves. People commonly make assumptions about a person’s personality and character based solely on the clothing he or she is wearing. By looking at Goffman’s approach we can understand more clearly why people behave the way they do in social environments. In Natalie Adams and Pamela Bettis book, Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood, they talk about the study done to prove whether or not cheerleading is a cultural icon or if it exploits and demeans young girls.
“The function of the cheerleader is to encourage the worship of the men—the prettiest, nicest and most lively are selected to show and encourage adoration,” (Weis 1997, Pg. #83). In this study Adams and Bettis try to offer an insight into cheerleading that shows the variety of meanings rooted in the culture of the sport. During the mid-late 1800’s and early 1900’s cheerleading was specifically for males, and females did not begin entering collegiate cheerleading until the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. Women were mostly excluded from cheerleading until the 1930s. An early opportunity to join cheerleading squads appeared when large numbers of men were deployed to fight World War I, leaving open spots that women were more than happy to fill. When the men returned from war there was an effort to push women back out of cheerleading (some schools even prohibited female cheerleaders). The debate over whether or not women should be cheerleaders went on for several decades, but eventually women began to dominate it during World War II. Back then it was culturally acceptable for men to be cheerleaders and not women, but as time went on and men started to get preoccupied with war, women began to rule the sport thus the social structure was changed leaving women to be the dominant of the
sport. In Eric Anderson’s article Orthodox and Inclusive Masculinity: Competing Masculinities among Male Cheerleaders, he talks about how when we think of the word “cheerleader”, it conjures an image of a preppy school girl, with a huge smile, short skirt and Pom Pom’s. We also think of a ditzy blonde who is enthusiastic, feminine and more often than not attractive (Anderson, 2005, Pg. #173) Because of these stereotypes, when we hear of someone being a male cheerleader it seems wrong or unnatural, and that they aren’t as masculine as men who play football, baseball or other “masculine” sports. There are core requirements of American Masculinity which include no sissy stuff, being a big wheel, being a sturdy oak and giving them hell. These four rules are important to understanding the construction and stratification of masculine power and privilege (David and Brannon, 1976, Pg. #174). Different groups of men disagree with what is truly masculine vs. feminine and some even find their sexuality scrutinized because they are a part of this sport. Society has gone from praising men who do cheerleading, to questioning them about their sexual orientation, and culturally it has gone from being a predominantly masculine sport, to a more feminized terrain.