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Anonymous

The Performance of Hidden Identities

Anonymous

The Performance of Hidden Identities

A rich sociological analysis of how and why we use anonymity.
 
In recent years, anonymity has rocked the political and social landscape. There are countless examples: An anonymous whistleblower was at the heart of President Trump’s first impeachment, an anonymous group of hackers compromised more than 77 million Sony accounts, and best-selling author Elena Ferrante resolutely continued to hide her real name and identity. In Anonymous, Thomas DeGloma draws on a fascinating set of contemporary and historical cases to build a sociological theory that accounts for the many faces of anonymity. He asks a number of pressing questions about the social conditions and effects of anonymity. What is anonymity, and why, under various circumstances, do individuals act anonymously? How do individuals accomplish anonymity? How do they use it, and, in some situations, how is it imposed on them?
 
To answer these questions, DeGloma tackles anonymity thematically, dedicating each chapter to a distinct type of anonymous action, including ones he dubs protective, subversive, institutional, and ascribed. Ultimately, he argues that anonymity and pseudonymity are best understood as performances in which people obscure personal identities as they make meaning for various audiences. As they bring anonymity and pseudonymity to life, DeGloma shows, people work to define the world around them to achieve different goals and objectives.
 

Reviews

Anonymous does what sociology does best: to take a concept (in this case anonymity and pseudonymity) and explore it as a performative practice, a practice of sociality, and as linked to institutional structures. This book is a major addition to the sociological canon.”

Gary Alan Fine, author of Fair Share: Senior Activism, Tiny Publics, and the Culture of Resistance

"Attention must be paid! In this performance, grounded in the traditions of symbolic interaction, Thomas DeGloma has produced a foundational book for an emerging field, a field  badly in need of one. As digital technologies continue to alter the, meaning, discovery, hiding and validation of identity, understanding anonymity and its’ extended family (e.g. pseudonymity, pseudo-anonymity, secrecy, privacy, surveillance and so much more), is ever more important. The book’s useful concepts bring coherence and integration to a plentitude of engaging empirical examples across cultures and time periods. Most welcome!"
 

Gary T. Marx, author of Windows into the Soul: Surveillance and Society in an Age of High Technology

"DeGloma's book is a masterful work of scholarship, creative, and wry, identifying the formal characteristics of interactions that link many different areas of social action. . . . a conceptually and empirically engrossing and delightful read. . . Anonymous takes us on a perspective-bending ride, revealing what was hiding in plain sight."

Symbolic Interaction

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Anonymous Acts
The Social Dynamics of Anonymous Acts
Naming, Namelessness, and Pseudo-Names
Freedom and Constraint in the Breach of Personal Identity 
The Exhibitionist and the Voyeur: Anonymity and Information Control 
Impersonal Agencies: Someone, Anyone, Everyone, and No One 
Culture and Meaning in the Performance of Anonymity 
Outline of the Book 

Chapter 2. Protective Anonymity 
Concealed Authorship and the Performance of Elena Ferrante
Social Ethics of Anonymity
Anonymous Altruism and Charity
The Screened Confession and the Masquerade
The Impartiality of Impersonality and the Performance of Academic Evaluation 
Anonymous Communities and Forums
Anonymous Therapeutics and the Case of Alcoholics Anonymous
Computer-Mediated Anonymous Forums
Anonymous Consumption and Exchange
Exploiting Protective Anonymity

Chapter 3. Subversive Anonymity
Subversive Art and Literature 
Masked Social Movements and Anonymous Rebellion 
The Religious, Theatrical, and Festive Roots of Masked Social Protest 
Masked Movements and Their Subversive World Orders 
The Anonymous Performances of Ku Klux Klan Terror 
Performing the Digital Guerrilla Insurgency: The Hacker Networks of Anonymous 
The Klan and Anonymous: Shared Characteristics of Subversive Anonymity 
FBI Counterintelligence and the Anonymous Subversion of Subversive Activity 

Chapter 4. The Anonymity of Social Systems 
Institutions and Systems as Cover Representations 
Wall Street and the Financial Crisis 
Corporate Personhood and Electoral Politics 
The NSA, Big Tech, and Electronic Surveillance 
Distance Killing and the Nation at War
The Modern State as “Humane” Executioner 
Anonymous Labor and Systems of Production

Chapter 5. The Anonymity of Types and Categories 
Typification and Social Performance
Anonymous Others in Situated Encounters 
The Anonymity of Class and Occupation 
Anonymous Sex 
Racial Typification, Law Enforcement, and Police Violence 
Cisgaender Typification and the Segregation of Public Restrooms 
Analytic Typifications 

Chapter 6. The Social Contradictions of Our Hidden Identities 
Unmasking Acts 

Acknowledgments 
Notes 
References
Index 

Awards

Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction: Charles H. Cooley Award
Won

ASA Theory Section: The Theory Book Prize
Won

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