This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
The self is the totality of an individual’s perceptions of themselves and the attitudes they display based on those perceptions. Although intertwined with personality, the self is primarily concerned with the individual’s effort to create a distinct space that separates them from others. Humans are concerned not only with what they are but also with how they appear. Therefore, they develop certain behaviors aimed at “looking good”; these behaviors are referred to as self-presentation.
Individuals carefully construct these self-presentations in daily life because gaining social acceptance, forming an identity, and sustaining social interactions are only possible through such strategic presentations. In this context, the self functions like an internal force that guides, monitors, judges, and regulates behavior. Thanks to this internal force, individuals perform different roles in various social settings.
It is precisely at this point that Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory comes into play. According to Goffman, social and institutional life resembles a theatrical performance on stage. He seeks to understand society not as a vast structure but through micro-level interpersonal interactions. People selectively act to conform to social expectations, consciously shaping their roles and developing images that align with others’ expectations.
Goffman calls the arena where this performance takes place the “front stage.” The front stage is the space in which individuals display their serious, planned, and idealized selves. Spontaneity is avoided here because the individual is observed and evaluated by the audience—that is, the social environment. In this setting, individuals may suppress their true desires or personal traits because the presented self must conform to social approval.
In contrast, the “back stage” is the space where individuals feel more at ease and are not under pressure to perform. Here, people can be themselves and behave more naturally. The materials or discourses used on the front stage are typically prepared in the back stage. Thus, the backstage is where the construction of self-presentation takes place.
However, there is no sharp boundary between these two stages. An individual frequently switches stages throughout the day; as the context, social expectations, and roles change, the self is continually repositioned. Therefore, the self that individuals present is not fixed but dynamic, strategic, and contextual.
