Dramaturgy and Dominance

Abstract

This chapter uses the perspective of dramaturgical social psychology, associated with the work of Erving Goffman, to examine the processes through which inequalities are created, reproduced, and resisted. We show how cognitive presuppositions, normative and procedural rules, rituals, and self-protective expressive behavior reflect and reinforce relations of domination and subordination. We examine several forms of resistance to inequality: identity work to counter stigma, creation of oppositional cultures and identity projects, disruptions of the interaction order, and self-narratives in social movements. We also propose that the utility of dramaturgy for analyzing inequality can be enhanced by attention to three phenomena: the body as a peremptory signifier, expressive habitus, and nets of accountability. Finally, we discuss affinities between dramaturgy and other social-psychological perspectives that are useful for understanding the interactional bases of inequality.