Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective regarding the performative aspects of self presentation is highly relevant to a study of social media like Tik Tok. People project themselves within society based on their environment in response to society’s norms. The way that individuals act and perform are in response to society’s norms and expectations within a particular setting or interaction, “it is typical for a performance to highlight the accepted values of a society; in this way, performances reinforce the society’s sanctioned value system” (Goffman 2002: 210). An individual’s setting and audience affects the self that is portrayed by that individual. Setting within Tik Tok can vary depending who the audience is and the perceptions the audience holds. Goffman’s idea of front stage vs backstage can be very useful when looking at my research. When people are on the “front stage”, their behavior changes as they know others are watching them. The front stage can be represented by Tik Tok as this is a public platform and when influencers post, they intend for others to view their content. When people are on the “backstage”, their behavior does not necessarily follow societal norms since they are free of expectations and societal norms since no one is directly watching them. Since Tik Tok is a public platform, it is more important to look at the idea of front stage as everything that is posted on the app whether it is the influencers content itself or the comments on their posts are visible to the public. The audience, females and young girls, can be represented through the comments on the influencers posts as they are the ones“watching” the influencer and inserting their feedback. The performance on the front stage is the video itself that the influencer has created since it is viewed by anyone who stumbles upon it.
This theory of self coincides well with my project as it shows the ways in which society makes people conform to certain standards. Goffman discusses the act of performing and how the self is affected by the environment one is placed in and I feel as both of these relate to my topic on body types and the body positivity movement. Society’s norms surrounding body type in today’s day and age promote being skinny and thin. These ideals are shown constantly throughout social media platforms, specifically Tiktok. The audience of the app and posting content to essentially the entire world makes the creator feel as though they need to portray the same ideal body type that is accepted among society. This makes people perform in a way that will align with society’s values. Typically people will follow the popular Tik Tok trend at that point in time whether it be following recipes and eating healthy, trying to lose weight through dieting or editing themselves to make them look skinny like other popular creators.
While many end up following these trends without even realizing they are conforming to society’s standards, the body positivity movement has started to break this mold. Popular influencers are now coming out and supporting all body types by showing off their own. The goal of the body positivity movement is to promote self-love and through the use of Tiktok, content creators can share their beliefs which many Tik Tok users will begin to follow and support. Social media and Tik Tok has shaped the setting onto a global scale that can reach any individual who has the app. The performance of self Goffman describes relates to how the body positivity movement has changed as people are masking the true versions of themselves to fit under society’s standards and norms. This can be seen through the editing and photoshop of women and girls’ bodies to conform to what society deems as the ideal body type. The promotion of leading a healthy lifestyle by body positive influencers has also projected onto the audience’s sense of self as they follow these norms and trends in order to fit in as they know they are on the front stage and that society is watching them.