" In 1959, the sociologist Erving Goffman laid out a theory of identity that revolved around playacting. In every human interaction, he wrote in 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,' a person must put on a sort of performance, create an impression for an audience... A performer might be fully taken in by his own performance—he might actually believe that his biggest flaw is 'perfectionism'—or he might know that his act is a sham. But no matter what, he's performing. Even if he stops 'trying' to perform, he still has an audience, his actions still create an effect. 'All the word is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn't are not easy to specify.' Goffman wrote.

To communicate an identity requires some degree of self-delusion. A performer, in order to be convincing, must conceal 'the discreditable facts that he has to learn about the performance; in everyday terms, there will be things he knows, or has known, that he will not be able to tell himself. "

― Jia Tolentino