Reference no: EM133382949

Case Study: Classmate: I believe performance identity for everyone is situational. I know for me personally, I conduct myself differently at work and business functions than I do in personal social functions. For example, at work I would not use slang terms or share intimate details of my life with my colleagues; however, when I am with friends and family, I have no problem doing either of these things.

"In any given society, there is a specific range of behavior that "is neither too expressive nor too inexpressive" to be considered to be normal. Everything else is considered putting on an act (Griffith and Marion)." More often than not, I conduct myself in a way that is acceptable regardless of the situation I am in. While tattoos are becoming more socially acceptable, when I first started my career, they were not. I remember the first time one of the partners in my organization caught a glimpse of one of my tattoos and how quickly I covered it up. Outside of the office, I would never go out of my way to cover my tattoos.

More often than not, the perception people have of me is different than how I perceive myself. I consider myself to be a fairly professional individual and make it a point to conduct myself that way on a daily basis at work. I have been with the same company for 15 years and despite my efforts and promotions, by some, I am still perceived as a junior level employee. I am still working on changing these perceptions, my manager has actually made this a part of my career goals this year.

I cannot think of a time when my "front of house" performance did not match a situation I was in. I am fairly self-aware, so I try to be mindful of the situations I find myself in and conduct myself accordingly. An example of this would be when I go to church with my grandmother. I am not religious, but she is, so when I go to church with her, I respect her beliefs and participate in the rituals (sermon responses, singing, etc.). Now that I am thinking about it, I guess my performances could be studied as part of "performing culture."

Questions:

-Explain to your classmate why you think their comments are interesting.

-Ask your classmate a question or two to inquire about their further thoughts on a topic or to clarify and expand upon something they have said.