Frontstage vs. Backstage

Today I decided to go to a casual café, one that is considered a place where middle-class people go. I wanted to analyze it using the dramaturgy theory. This theory states that organizations can be examined like plays or movies. They have a setting, actors, roles, an audience, forestage and backstage behaviors. I went to a café called Bayt Al-Shami.

I observed peoples’ behaviors, the customers, and the waiters. I listened in on their conversations and I observed their behaviors.

In Grazian’s chapter about interaction theory, he talks about the fact that culture is determined by the social contexts in which we interact with others.

In a cultural context such as the one I was in today, there are certain norms and behaviors I expected to see, and others I didn’t expect to see. For example I expected to see middle-class people, behave moderately classy, yet not as classy as what I would expect someone to behave in a hotel. The norm would be for them to, not yell in the middle of the restaurant, yet not whisper in order for them to be classy.

The setting was a very regular setting, casual middle-eastern seating, low Arabic music playing in the background, and mixed gendered groups of people sitting together, whether they were friends or family.



The front stage behavior, which is the behavior that takes place where it is visible to the audience, i.e. the customers in the restaurant, was also very predictable. People are socialized to act a certain way based on the setting they are in, and for a place like this, it was normal to see children running around, and people occasionally getting loud.



As for the waiters, they’re expected to occasionally hover, to be polite, however, they’re not expected to be as professional as classy as waiters are in a hotel restaurant, and not as trashy as they are in a cheap “guy sheesha” places. Which is also what I observed in the front stage.



The back stage behavior was particularly interesting. I got close to the kitchen area and snapped a few pictures hoping one of them would be slightly clear, and I hovered a little to listen in on their conversations.



Some were yelling, some were laughing really loudly, and one of them was sing Baby for Justin Bieber, as his friends were huddled around him.

The drastic change between front stage and back stage definitely proved that the setting really does determine peoples’ behaviors.

Gender and our society

A society labels all male and female individuals according to their genders. It is the way of classifying and separating the males and females in terms of dressing, in terms of behavior, in terms of their respective roles and responsibilities. An individual cannot define his/her gender by himself/herself; the society mostly establishes a gender from their perspective. Most of the communities perceive gender differently. However, gendering people plays an important role in publicizing community organization. Due to globalization and tremendous growth of technologies, the roles of these two separate genders started mixing up. Even though this has not been so prominent, women and men have proven that they can perform each other’s role perfectly without any strain. Is gender today necessary for the society’s organization?

Does it limit our skills and talents? Now days mostly women play the roles of breadwinners in our society. This wasn’t possible in the past because the society made sure that a woman gets married to a man who would take care of her and would support her for family needs. Gendering has always been a part of human culture. Since like culture, the gender roles are so dynamic that keeps on changing from time to time. Gendering takes place soon after birth and all the children are designated according to their particular genders. After the birth of a child, girls and boys are treated accordingly with clear differences in the type of clothes that they wear, the kind of games that they play and also both of them have different behaviors.

The activities carried out by men and women may indeed be genetic and also their behavior may differ according to their genes. For example, biologically it is proven that men are more aggressive than women because of the hormones that are produced in their bodies. The aggressive behavior is common in almost every species but it differs with sex. For example, Crime rates are usually higher in men than in women. But boys usually display a lower level of aggressiveness as compares to girls. Does the genetics really influence the genders? Studies have shown that, if the levels of testosterone between the two sexes in animals are reversed then the aggressive behavior is also influenced.



There are some clear things that we notice like male children usually play with toy guns and violent toys but on the other hand, female girls play with dolls and soft toys. Some of the homely tasks like washing dishes can be done by both the genders but usually females more commonly do this task.



The society today, has failed to promote gender equality. Why is it that even after the developmental measures of equal rights, there are clear discrepancies on the gender roles of the community? Why is it that when people try to cross the gender lines, they are always seen as deviants in our society because they hold a small position in our society?

On the other hand, our society is successfully ensuring that the community is organized along gender lines and that gender cannot be compared to sex. Every individual accepts gender because gender promotes similarity. Living a life in a normal way and by accepting the social norms, these people do not conflict with the society. Every individual wants to be identified with the society. The good thing about gendering people is that is creates recognizable roles, rights and responsibilities to the different sexes making it easy for society organization. Anyhow, gender creates social stratification in our male dominated society that places men above women. We can find many examples and issues like employment, education etc. Girls and boys can be different and at the same time equal in terms of respect. Today living in this world of modernization the society has still not changed when it comes to a task that men can do and women cannot.

Material Culture in Sudan

Culture is everything made, learned, or shared by the members of a society, including values, beliefs, behaviors, and material objects. Culture is learned, and it varies tremendously from society to society. We begin learning our culture from the moment we’re born, as the people who raise us encourage certain behaviors and teach their version of right and wrong. One important aspect of culture is Material culture. (SparkNotes)

Material culture consists of the concrete, visible parts of a culture, such as food, clothing, cars, weapons, and buildings. Aspects of material culture differ from society to society. (SparkNotes) Here are a few features of material culture in Sudan:



This is the traditional bride, where she must be covered with gold on her wedding. Also Henna is a necessity for married women, so they are known in the society that they are married. Also the Hena is a material object because is its a part of the Sudanese culture.











Also another part of the Sudanese material culture is tribal beauty marks its done by many tribes in Sudan. Which is when young girls, becomes a woman and eligible for marriage, her face will scarred in tribal patterns to represent that she is ready.






Another important material in the Sudanese culture is the “Toub” the national dress for women. Married women wore the “Toub”, which is a representation that they are married. Young girls are not allowed to wear. The “Toub” is also the identity that differentiates the Sudanese women from other women around the world.





Material culture is important in every culture and country, it defines the identity of each nation. In Sudan we have many significant material culture that presents Sudan, and known all around the world.







Here is a Video on Youtube that elobrates more on the Sudanese Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZtlwD2miUE


Source:

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Society and Culture.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2006. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.