Stubblings: A Defense Of Stübing

He justified his actions by stating that he did not grow up with his sister therefore the natural sexual inhibitions between siblings had not been established as well as by reiterating that the sex was consensual therefore a defense of morals was not a adequate cause to warrant the unlawful verdict that resulted in him spending two years in prison. Stübing’s defence also highlighted how the criminal ban was plagued with inconsistencies such as the fact that inappropriate touching was allowed between step and adoptive siblings, siblings that had grown up with each other and had the time to establish sexual inhibitions. Although Stübing was given the space to make these claims and explain them on behalf of himself and Karolewski, they were not
Within this performance, the individual is able to provide meaning to themselves and their situation (Stübing trying to justify his relationship with Karolewski by stating that they did not grow up together hence they had no sexual inhibitions towards one another and that it was consensual). These performances convey ideas to others in the community or society as information is exchanged to authenticate an identity. The individual might or might not be conscious of his performance but the audience is continuously attaching meaning to it and him, in this case Stübing has been giving an identity of being immoral and felonious by his community and government due to his actions. He will forever be known as the man who fell in love with his sister and had sexual relations with her whether or not that was his intention (whether or not he was sincere) when he began the relationship, society has given him a new identity. This identity will follow him wherever he
Different settings will be occupied by different audiences therefore the actor is forced to act accordingly in each setting that he or she may find themselves in. For example the manner in which Stübing would conduct himself on the streets when criticized or harassed about his personal life would be different to the way he would react when faced with the same scrutiny in a judicial court. This can also be related to Goffman’s theory of appearance and manner where by the former refers to the indicators that tell us of the social standing of the performer and the latter referring to indicators that act as warnings to prepare the audience of the individuals performance in the situation (1959: