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Myths exist in all aspects of culture. In this Discussion, you will look at gender roles — generally accepted assumptions about males and females.

Read more about Erving Goffman.

Source: Erving Goffman. Retrieved from 

Read more about Mary Pipher.

Source: Mary Pipher, PhD. Retrieved from 

Sociologist Erving Goffman observed social expectations for males from American contemporary life. In 1963, he enumerated a list of characteristics that seemed to typify the ideal male during that time. Keep in mind that Goffman was recording observations of this time and not stating a personal opinion.

In your response, consider whether the time period in which he made this statement (1963) is important. Why or why not?

As you read these conclusions, consider if you still see these features as relevant and valued by American society.

In The Goffman Reader (Lemert, 1997), Erving Goffman states,

While some of these norms, such as sightedness and literacy, may be commonly sustained with complete adequacy by most persons in the society, there are other norms such as those associated with physical comeliness, which take the form of ideals and constitute standards against which almost everyone falls short at some stage in his life. For example, in an important sense there is only one complete unblushing male in America: a young, married, white, urban, northern, heterosexual, Protestant, father, of college education, fully employed, of good complexion, weight, and height, and a recent record in sports. Every American male tends to look out upon the world from this perspective, this constituting one sense in which one speak of a common value system in America. Any male who fails to quality in any of these ways is likely to view himself – during moments at least – as unworthy, incomplete, and inferior; at times, he is likely to pass and at times he is likely to find himself being apologetic or aggressive concerning known-about aspects of himself he knows are probably seen as undesirable” (p 78).

Source: Lemert, C. (Ed.). (1997). the Goffman reader. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Psychologist Mary Pipher, in Reviving Ophelia (Pipher, 2005), argues America is poisoning girls with pressures to maintain difficult standards of beauty and behavior. She says, “Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts. This pressure disorients and depresses most girls. They sense the pressure to be someone they are not.”

Source: Pipher, M. (2005). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York, NY: Penguin.

First, review the statements from both Goffman and Pipher. Do you see these definitions as accurate or inaccurate? Why or why not? What are some specific ways through which these perceptions are perpetuated? Is the time period of these statements significant? Why or why not?

Provide some specific connections to the excerpts from Pipher and Goffman, and your Unit 2 reading material, in your response. Incorporate APA formatting.