In Defense of Masks by Kenneth Gergen - Essay Example

In defense of masks by Kenneth Gergen Kenneth Gergen introduces his article by stating that it is poor psychology to think that human beings can find a single basic self to which they can be true. He opposes the thinking of the poet Alexander Pope, sociologist Erving Goffman, and psychologist Erik Erikson. Pope, Goffman, and Erikson assert that it is normal for an individual to develop a firm and coherent sense of identity (Gergen 136). Gergen draws from his research to develop his thesis. He states that it is impossible for people to normally develop a coherent sense of identity. He further states that in the event where people develop a coherent sense of identity; they may go on to experience severe emotional distress (Gergen 137). Gergen is right, it is impossible to live through life without putting on or developing masks. Masks are a vital part of human society. Masks act as a source of fostering relationships and understandability between various groups in the society. People portray different forms of their real selves. They adorn masks to masks to achieve various objectives in their lives, but it is a fake characterization of their true beliefs and attitudes of a person. Everybody has a motivation towards hiding their identities. Whether it is to get accepted, loved, ignored, inflict fear or hide from shame. This urge to wear masks is true to human form. The urge for survival in a tough and competitive world makes people to act in a manner that is not true to self. For example, it is common for an employee to appear subtle in front of his/her boss just to appease them and look well-mannered or cultured. The employee may in actual sense not be cultured or well-mannered. He or she may be a loudmouth or someone that ridicules fellow coworkers at the workplace. But because the employee is in the presence of their boss and he or she hopes to get noticed for a promotion or favor, they hide their true identity in front of the boss. The boss would thus pick up a fake attitude or behavior from the employee. The motivation to get promoted or noticed makes the employee to wear a mask that hides their real identity. The society has also forced human beings to wear masks. Societal pressures make people to act in ways that are not true to their selves. In a world that is full of standards and demands, people act to please others and not themselves (Gergen 138). Friends, enemies, and relatives may force individuals to behave in certain ways. Present day society is riddled with popular culture in all forms of media. One may be categorized as ‘old-school’ or unfashionable for not keeping up with the latest trends in pop-culture. An example of this can be witnessed in the fashion industries. Female runway models get pictured in media as thin. The media through magazines, radio, or television portrays the image of this runway models as the standard of beauty. In a bid to become termed and revered to as beautiful, a majority of ladies go out of their way to look thin just to keep up with the society’s demands. They go through great lengths such as going on diets, gym exercise, or even become anorexic to get thin. This mask becomes worn by these ladies out of societal demands. Human beings always live in denial. It is in the human form to consciously or subconsciously lie to self. This normally happens in times of doubt. The worst lies are those told to self. Fear causes human beings to live in denial (Gergen 142). Human beings are always fearful of not finding love, fear of losing love or the fear of unhappiness incase love does not find one. Fear of being unworthy causes humans to create false selves. An example of how fear masks human beings can be witnessed among pro-athletes. Numerous cases of pro-athletes taking performance enhancing drugs has become a norm in present day society. The fear of failing to perform to one’s desired standards causes some pro-athletes to indulge in performance enhancing drugs. These pro-athletes are afraid of failing to come good in their matches or sporting events. They fear that they may be viewed as a fading force and thus in a bid to improve their performance and manipulate their results, they hide behind drug enhancing performance. They wear the mask of getting seen as superhuman among their legion of fans. Fear serves to cause human beings to wear masks that portray a spirit of bravado and super naturalness. Since ancient times, human beings have used man-made masks to hide their true physical forms. These man-made masks just go to show the effect they have on human lives. Warriors put on menacing masks to inflict fear and hide their real identities in the face of enemies. Some sportsmen put on man-made masks to protect themselves or shield their real identities from their fans or public. Once they are away from the public, they unravel their real selves by taking off their masks. It is an instinctive drive from humans since the ancient times to use masks. In ancient African tribes, such as the Igbo of Nigeria, it was common occurrence for traditional medicine men to wear masks to ward off evil spirits as well as hide their real identities when facing their clients. These ancient uses of man-made masks reveal further the admission of human beings in not revealing their coherent selves. Masks may have both negative and positive attributes. The society’s foundation exists upon the genuine and real values that individuals portray. In his defense of masks, Gergen asserts that it is impossible for people to develop a coherent sense of identity. I am in support of his thesis. Human beings hide their true beliefs and attitudes to foster relations and understandability across various groups. They seek to put on masks because of their hidden motivations, social pressure, and out of fear. The use of man-made masks since ancient times further shows the acknowledgement by human beings of the real purpose to put on masks. An individual who fails to acknowledge the reality of masks in present day life is living in denial. They need to question themselves if the masks they are wearing is too stuck on them that they do not even notice that it is there on them. Work Cited Gergen, Kenneth J. "The healthy, happy human being wears many masks." The truth about the truth: De-confusing and re-constructing the postmodern world (1995): 136-144. Read More