Erving Goffman Identity Quotes & Sayings

Stigma is a process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity. — Erving Goffman

Daily life is a comprimised blend of posturing for the sake of role-playing and of varying degrees of self-revelation. Under stressful conditions even the "true" self cannot be precisely defined, as Erving Goffman observes ... Little wonder that the identity crisis is a major source of modern neuroticism , and that the urban middle class aches for a return to a simpler existence. — E. O. Wilson

Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wide social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull. Our status is backed by the solid buildings of the world, while our sense of personal identity often resides in the cracks — Erving Goffman

The issue becomes not whether a person has experience with a stigma of his own, because he has, but rather how many varieties he has had his own experience with. — Erving Goffman