Clothing and Fashion are also relevant to Goffman’s ‘total institutions’; in which the barrier between the front and back stage of an individual is broken, and individuals are placed under constant supervision (1961 cited in Dillon,2014:290). This concept of institutionalisation will be elaborated through the policies implemented in prisons. The common process of giving prisoners a uniform clothing (Anderson,2001:163) is one that Goffman would argue is designed to strip prisoners of their sense of identity, to mortify them, and to place them in the prisoner role of conformity towards the authoritative figure (Goffman, 1961 cited in Dillon,2014:290). It creates a social expectation that a prisoner will have to act in accordance with his role,
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Since individuals are categorised according to their attributes, and this is dependent on social perception (Goffman,1963:11), the society had already associated criminals with certain outward traits. For example, the media commonly, if subconsciously, associates Muslims with ‘terrorism’ and subsequently with Islamic modes of dressing and appearance (Saha,2012:435). Hence this creates a potential to re-construct and re-define the situation through changing of criminal’s outward appearance. As Goffman noted, stigma creates groups of stigmatised and non-stigmatised people, as well as a knowledgeable group, who are connected with the stigmatised and are able to ‘pass’ off as normal. This group may also be known as the discreditable group in which the stigma could be concealed from others and the focus is shifted to managing undisclosed discrediting information about self. This backs up Simmel’s ideology that society has developed into the use of mental predominance. Goffman also argues that an individual is intelligent and able to define the situation and produce a different impression which promotes ‘trustworthiness’ – a character to predict the situation and act accordingly (Goffman,1969:1-2) and the potential to eliminate ‘suspicion’ as stated in Simmel’s account due to fleeting social interaction (Simmel,1903:15). Since the stimulation of mind is based on the contrast of past and present impressions (Simmel,1903:11-13), and relates the observed person in association with the experiences in the past (Goffman,1969:1-2), the criminal can manage his impression through clothing to be a socially acceptable individual. This allows the individual put on a disguise to fraud the victim (Martin, 1997:5) and be immune to the sight of police. Hence, clothing and pretence act as a front to conceal the true identity of the criminal, while segregating the act between different audiences (the
Since individuals are categorised according to their attributes, and this is dependent on social perception (Goffman,1963:11), the society had already associated criminals with certain outward traits. For example, the media commonly, if subconsciously, associates Muslims with ‘terrorism’ and subsequently with Islamic modes of dressing and appearance (Saha,2012:435). Hence this creates a potential to re-construct and re-define the situation through changing of criminal’s outward appearance. As Goffman noted, stigma creates groups of stigmatised and non-stigmatised people, as well as a knowledgeable group, who are connected with the stigmatised and are able to ‘pass’ off as normal. This group may also be known as the discreditable group in which the stigma could be concealed from others and the focus is shifted to managing undisclosed discrediting information about self. This backs up Simmel’s ideology that society has developed into the use of mental predominance. Goffman also argues that an individual is intelligent and able to define the situation and produce a different impression which promotes ‘trustworthiness’ – a character to predict the situation and act accordingly (Goffman,1969:1-2) and the potential to eliminate ‘suspicion’ as stated in Simmel’s account due to fleeting social interaction (Simmel,1903:15). Since the stimulation of mind is based on the contrast of past and present impressions (Simmel,1903:11-13), and relates the observed person in association with the experiences in the past (Goffman,1969:1-2), the criminal can manage his impression through clothing to be a socially acceptable individual. This allows the individual put on a disguise to fraud the victim (Martin, 1997:5) and be immune to the sight of police. Hence, clothing and pretence act as a front to conceal the true identity of the criminal, while segregating the act between different audiences (the