Master Status Vs Front Stage Theory
We humans behave and interact different in public than when we are alone. Through the “master status” concept and the “front stage” theory, we understand why this is so. Why a person might behave different in certain situations and how the master status affects a person’s front stage.
The “master-status” states that a person is weighted down by the most burdened status in their life. For example being poor, black, Asian, or Hispanic, whatever it is that affect a person’s ways of living is considered a master status. This status that they were born into or brought upon influences their daily actions and the way they talk in public. Sometimes a person may be embarrassed of his/her master status because he/she is poor. Thus, they may avoid talking …show more content…
Introduced by Erving Goffman, the concept simply says that we humans behave differently in public than when we are alone. The world is a stage and people are the actors playing their roles within society. The actor on stage is not who someone really is. It’s someone they had masked for the audience’s eyes. Many factors play into why a person may act different in public, but one of the more important reasons is their master status. For example, if a person’s master status is being black, they will act different in public because the public treats them different. If the public treats a black person as if he is inferior, that will trigger different behaviors from the black person. The way black people talk to police officers is different than how they talk to their intimate friends. Like the person who is Muslim, maybe they don’t wear the Hijab because they are scared of getting assaulted. Embracing their master status of being Muslim might cause a negative reaction from the public so in order to avoid chaos they decide not to wear the Hijab. The master status concept relates to the front stage theory because people with master status have to put on an act to protect themselves. The master status follows them like a shadow, and it influence the choices they make, the action they take, and the words they
The “master-status” states that a person is weighted down by the most burdened status in their life. For example being poor, black, Asian, or Hispanic, whatever it is that affect a person’s ways of living is considered a master status. This status that they were born into or brought upon influences their daily actions and the way they talk in public. Sometimes a person may be embarrassed of his/her master status because he/she is poor. Thus, they may avoid talking …show more content…
Introduced by Erving Goffman, the concept simply says that we humans behave differently in public than when we are alone. The world is a stage and people are the actors playing their roles within society. The actor on stage is not who someone really is. It’s someone they had masked for the audience’s eyes. Many factors play into why a person may act different in public, but one of the more important reasons is their master status. For example, if a person’s master status is being black, they will act different in public because the public treats them different. If the public treats a black person as if he is inferior, that will trigger different behaviors from the black person. The way black people talk to police officers is different than how they talk to their intimate friends. Like the person who is Muslim, maybe they don’t wear the Hijab because they are scared of getting assaulted. Embracing their master status of being Muslim might cause a negative reaction from the public so in order to avoid chaos they decide not to wear the Hijab. The master status concept relates to the front stage theory because people with master status have to put on an act to protect themselves. The master status follows them like a shadow, and it influence the choices they make, the action they take, and the words they