Erving Goffman

"Face-work is the work of maintaining the image of ourselves that we present to the world."

"When we meet another person, we are not meeting their true self—we are meeting a performance."

"Social order depends on our ability to cooperate in the maintenance of each other's images."

"The stigmatized person may find that they are asked to account for their appearance or condition repeatedly throughout their life."

"We are always conscious of how we appear to others, even when we pretend not to be."

"The front stage is where we perform; the back stage is where we prepare and sometimes reveal our true selves."

"Social interactions are governed by scripts that we learn through socialization and experience."

"Every performance requires an audience, and every audience shapes the performance."

"The moment someone becomes aware they are being observed, their behavior changes."

"We manage impressions not just for others, but for ourselves—to maintain our own sense of self."

"Embarrassment is a threat to the social order; we go to great lengths to prevent and manage it."

"The rules of interaction are often unwritten, yet nearly universally understood."

"A person is not a puppet; they are not wholly the performer or wholly the character they portray."

"We use props, settings, and companions to establish and maintain our social roles."

"The control of information about ourselves is one of the most important tools we have in social life."

"Civility in social life requires that we pretend not to notice certain things about others."

"What we consider our 'true self' is itself a performance that we have perfected."

"In total institutions, the self is systematically mortified and reformed according to institutional rules."

"The asylum is not a place where the sick are cured; it is a place where certain people are confined and controlled."

"We are all in some sense performers, constructing identities through our daily interactions."

"The concept of self is socially constructed and varies significantly across cultures and contexts."

"When our performances fail, we experience shame and must engage in remedial work to restore our image."

"Every social encounter requires that we manage the impressions we give off."

"The 'looking glass self' means we see ourselves reflected in how we imagine others perceive us."

"Ritual is the constant process through which we affirm and strengthen our social bonds."

"We maintain multiple selves—one for each social context we enter."

"The presentation of self is a form of social labor that we perform constantly."

"Credibility is constructed through careful performance and the management of information about ourselves."

"When people interact, they are engaged in a delicate negotiation of reality."

"A person must be careful to project the right impression, as others will judge them based on it."