Keeping Up Appearances

Published August 5, 2010
Category: Bec Says

Bec Says

After Julia Gillard’s recent vow to start being herself, and the cynical reaction that remark drew from certain quarters, I did a lot of thinking about people and their personas. In her excellent article in The Courier-Mail this week, Karen Brooks examined Gillard’s comments and made some very sensible (and thought-provoking) points. You can read it here but here’s an excerpt:

But what is real anyway? We all hide our real selves in varying degrees. It’s a form of privacy, self-preservation and it’s also our right. We cannot be real all the time and nor should anyone expect us to be. It’s how we are able to juggle the variety of social relations we have. It does not mean we’re any less true to ourselves or others.

I agree with that and wonder what you think? Don’t we sometimes conceal aspects of ourselves and modify our behaviour, in keeping with certain social etiquette and different environments? I guess the rules are a bit different for pollies but it is interesting to consider how much of ourselves we really show the people we know. Has social networking changed this? Do you share more with distant acquaintances on your Facebook ‘friends’ list than you would if you were seated together at a function? Are we entering into a more confusing atmosphere of masks and revelations? I remember reading an article in Marie Claire magazine a while ago, in which the journo described current teens and 20-somethings as ‘Generation Exhibition’, owing to their apparent need to share all their goings-on in public forums. Do you consider yourself part of that group? Is it a fair title? In the same article, the writer described a girl who’d blogged about a trip to London; she’d made it sound like she was having a blast. In reality, she confessed, it was a total wash-out and a miserable period of her life. Why, then, this desperate need to appear to be super-happy and leading the most exciting life ever?

How much of your true self do *you* reveal to other people? Does it change? If you do wear ‘masks’, is it for diplomacy’s sake? Are you just telling Auntie Marjorie that you *love* that koala sweater she knitted from her Woman’s Day pattern to save her feelings? Are you only posting the good stuff on your blog because you think misery makes for boring reading? Are you taking down your Justin Bieber posters before certain friends arrive just because you want to make the environment nicer for them? And tell the truth: those outrageous photos from the fabulous party you went to last Saturday night….are they a true reflection of the amazing time you had?