Always Off-Stage

A theory that we have in sociology is dramaturgy. The simple version of this is that sometimes we are onstage where we perform a certain way for the people that we are around, and at other times we are offstage, or backstage, and this is where we are our true selves. This theory can apply to many different parts of our lives, but recently I was talking to some of my friends about it when it comes to gender.

I talked about in class how last semester we dressed as the other gender for another one my classes. The genders that were portrayed were the ones that we thought that gender was when they were "onstage". Today in Walmart I saw a girl that was dressed as your stereotypical boy. Her mother got mad her because of how she was dressed and wanted her to "dress more like a girl". It made me think of what we talked about in class where we are always finding ways to reinforce the male side of what it means to be a female. 

If we get rid of the ideas of gender, what will be the role that we play on stage verses the roles that we play off stage look like? Will there even be one or the other or will it just be one? It is hard to see how things will be if we lose something that has been such a big part of our lives. My own opinion about it is there will still be an on stage and a off stage performance due to our need to impress people and the constant want to make sure that people are comfortable and that they like you. This involves switching roles sometimes because everyone has different interest that you have to please. The only difference is that one's role switching will not be based off of gender, but different factors that people find in you.