Below is my Facebook profile picture and the ‘About me’ page transferred into text.

I researched into some women stereotypical attributes and discovered we are meant to be quiet and look pretty. We’re meant to be submissive to men and be there for their pleasure. As much as I would like to scream into the faces of people who wrote such attributes, my profile picture would make me hypocritical.

Although through strange directly at my audience I am creating a demanding look, I am still very much aware I chose that particular pose to look pretty. This supports Goffman’s theory of Front stage. He suggests we create a biography or life tale almost through the pictures we post. We are allowed to conjure up this fairytale ‘life’ of ours and our identities when perhaps behind clothes doors we actually are our true selves but we do it because we have an audience and subconsciously we feel we have to deliver.

Although my profile picture may not account for my whole lifestyle, it shows I have posted it for some sort of attention, again feeding into the female stereotypes.

Another stereotypical attribute of women it emphasises is their insecurities or being emotional.

In my generation it is understood that posting ‘selfies’ may not be because you are confident but in fact because you are insecure in yourself and feel you need likes or comments to feel validated. The likes and comments women most desire are those from men, again supporting the stereotypical view that women are to please men and women need men.

Focusing specifically on the position of my pose, I have earrings in, to hope add to my prettiness, hair back showing my new highlights and more impotently I am wearing makeup. This is very stereotypical of a woman. I am doing this in order to gain attention, preferably male but female also and I am also doing it in order to feel better about myself; raise my self-esteem.

I think women saving face is another quality they feel obliged to maintain. Men aren’t seen to save face or be polite etc because it is coded into them through their stereotypes to be competitive. I am hoping by validating myself that I will feel better about myself and  so be able to remain the stereotype of saving face.

Assessing About me now, I have written factual information about myself. I have written little because I understand the implications of privacy and being safe online, however the information I have included signifies where I live; I want people to know this as they may know me, where I work; Jack Wills is quite a significant retail shop and I feel proud working there and finally where I went to school, again inviting people to ‘add me as a friend’. This is evidence of Barton and Lee’s view (2013) of a techno biography. I am creating and constantly updating my own biography to create an image of myself and what I want people to see. This refers to the female stereotype of saving face.

About me

Works in Jack Wills, went to Willingdon Community School, Lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex