Authentic Self vs Performative Self

Lorenne Huaman

Page 56

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are”- Carl Jung

Authentic Self

You are being true to your authentic self when what you say in life aligns with your actions.

To be authentic is to be true to yourself through your thoughts, words, and actions. It means being able to sacrifice any relationship, situation, or circumstance that diverges from your truth.


What can happen when you’re not living as your authentic self:

When we aren’t in touch with our authentic self, we may do and say things based on what is expected of us, or based on social and peer pressure.

Not everyone in our lives will respond well to our authentic self, because it may disappoint, or be perceived as different by others.


The benefits of being your authentic self:

We do what makes us happy

We follow our passions

We allow for more intimate and honest relationships


When we are being authentic, we are being vulnerable; we are showing all parts of us, the good with the bad.

Being authentic isn’t just about being honest, it’s also about being self-aware, being humble, and taking feedback from others.

Performative Self

Performativity is the power of language to effect change in the world: language does not simply describe the world but may instead (or also) function as a form of social action.




Performative language included speech acts such as promising, swearing, betting, and performing a marriage ceremony.

For instance, the utterance, “I do”—said under the right circumstances by the right speakers with the right intentions—transforms the utterer from being unmarried to being married.


Those words actively change the existence of that couple by establishing a new marital reality: the words do what they say.