The Glimpsed World: Unintended Communication and Unintended Perception

Abstract

Abstract In 1979, the sociologist Erving Goffman published Gender Advertisements, an examination of the ways in which images of men and women are used in advertisements. Goffman was particularly interested in how such images reflect underlying cultural values about relations between the sexes. He went on to draw a parallel between the still photographs of advertisements and the fleeting observations of strangers, gathered in the course of our lives, that comprise what he called “our glimpsed world.” Just as posed photographs provide insight into sociocultural values, Goffman averred, brief glimpses of others reveal a great deal about their psychological lives. In sum, Goffman suggested that observations made in passing can be used as sources of information about the internal states, social identities, and relationships of those who make up our social worlds.