I remember learning about a sociologist by the name of Erving Goffman in undergrad. Goffman believed in what was called a dramaturgical perspective, the idea that social interaction in the everyday life of an individual is performed and therefore tends to mirror actors performing on stage.
There are two particular terms that I remember learning about within the dramaturgical perspective and those were the “frontstage” and “backstage”. The frontstage is when an individual knows that they are being watched (when an actor or actress knows that they are on stage and they have an audience so a performance must take place) so they embody a specific persona to present themselves a certain way. The backstage is when you are alone or around people that you would consider to be apart of your comfort zone and you are your true self.
Last month, I spent some time reflecting on Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective and his idea of the “frontstage” and the “backstage”. I believe that this month, God wanted me to share this perspective to help people become more cognitive of their frontstage and backstage, and to begin utilizing it as a platform to bless others.
There are two particular terms that I remember learning about within the dramaturgical perspective and those were the “frontstage” and “backstage”. The frontstage is when an individual knows that they are being watched (when an actor or actress knows that they are on stage and they have an audience so a performance must take place) so they embody a specific persona to present themselves a certain way. The backstage is when you are alone or around people that you would consider to be apart of your comfort zone and you are your true self.
Last month, I spent some time reflecting on Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective and his idea of the “frontstage” and the “backstage”. I believe that this month, God wanted me to share this perspective to help people become more cognitive of their frontstage and backstage, and to begin utilizing it as a platform to bless others.
Through our frontstage, people have a tendency to create facades that do not reveal what goes on behind closed doors in our backstage. The type of warfare that we face or deal with on a daily basis, or what we have had to go through in our past to get to where we are. Why is it that we are so afraid to dig up our own dirt and expose it in order to bless others? As children of God we have to understand that particular pieces of our private tribulations, our true self, or things done in our backstage have the power to bless people who may not know that we have experienced similar situations that they are going through.
God has a funny way of positioning and placing us in seasons that we could never imagine just to bless someone else. There are so many stories and characters from the bible where we can see this but I want to use the story of Esther as an example (if you have a moment, please read the book of Esther in the bible, it’s a short read). Esther was a queen who ended up having to intercede for the Jews to prevent their execution because although in her frontstage she played the perfect wife to King Xerxes in her backstage she hid the fact that she was a Jew.
God has a funny way of positioning and placing us in seasons that we could never imagine just to bless someone else. There are so many stories and characters from the bible where we can see this but I want to use the story of Esther as an example (if you have a moment, please read the book of Esther in the bible, it’s a short read). Esther was a queen who ended up having to intercede for the Jews to prevent their execution because although in her frontstage she played the perfect wife to King Xerxes in her backstage she hid the fact that she was a Jew.
Through this series I am going to be challenging myself to bring pieces of my backstage that have shaped who I am as a woman of God to light through my frontstage, with hopes of blessing individuals who read the DistinctlyBlessed blog in a powerful way. I challenge each one of you reading this blog to publicly share a piece of your backstage life that not many people know about from a public perspective that you believe may be a blessing to someone via social media. When you do this, use the hashtag “#frontstageblessings”.
As a private individual I typically keep my instagram page private but through this series, I’ve decided to make my page public and share more of my personal backstage lifestyle for frontstage blessings. Feel free to follow me @delanajackee or spectate, either way I don’t mind, I simply pray that God connects with you or blesses you in some way through my testimonies.
As a private individual I typically keep my instagram page private but through this series, I’ve decided to make my page public and share more of my personal backstage lifestyle for frontstage blessings. Feel free to follow me @delanajackee or spectate, either way I don’t mind, I simply pray that God connects with you or blesses you in some way through my testimonies.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
All the glory belongs to you so we bow before you praising your name (take a moment to praise God for His goodness, mercy & grace). Hallelujah Jesus! We magnify your Holy name Lord! We give you praise for being our father. We give you praise for being mighty. We give you praise for your benevolence. We give you praise for being our rescuer. We give you praise for being our peace keeper. We give you praise for being our joy. We give you praise for stabilizing our minds in such a tantalizing world. As we come forward in prayer let our spirit and desires align with your will Lord. We pray for a covering over our frontstage as we reveal pieces of our backstage. Bless us with the discernment to know the correct pieces of our backstage to reveal as blessings on our frontstage for your people Lord. Direct us as we share our backstage stories so that no matter what, you always get the glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Heavenly Father,
All the glory belongs to you so we bow before you praising your name (take a moment to praise God for His goodness, mercy & grace). Hallelujah Jesus! We magnify your Holy name Lord! We give you praise for being our father. We give you praise for being mighty. We give you praise for your benevolence. We give you praise for being our rescuer. We give you praise for being our peace keeper. We give you praise for being our joy. We give you praise for stabilizing our minds in such a tantalizing world. As we come forward in prayer let our spirit and desires align with your will Lord. We pray for a covering over our frontstage as we reveal pieces of our backstage. Bless us with the discernment to know the correct pieces of our backstage to reveal as blessings on our frontstage for your people Lord. Direct us as we share our backstage stories so that no matter what, you always get the glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.