The red, shaking fool: dramaturgical dilemmas in shyness

Shyness has previously been conceptualized as an object of psychological study, but a symbolic interactionist approach relocates the condition in its social context. Using data from in-depth interviews and an e-mail distribution list, this article considers the ways in which the shy role is defined and negotiated in everyday interaction. It examines the myriad dramaturgical strategies through which shy actors attempt to conceal their lack of poise and competence, as well as how shyness itself can be a discrediting performance. Managing this identity therefore requires complex skills of self-presentation and paradoxically reveals a strong commitment to the interaction order.