I came across a piece by Goffman from an early issue of Theory and Society (1977, “The Arrangement Between the Sexes”) this morning and started reading it. Around page 4 I hit a quote I thought I’d share, because I very much enjoyed it. The quote follows a few introductory comments on gender and sexuality, and the way that gender and sexuality are laid on top of, but are very much separate from biology. Then Goffman notes:

In any case, it should be perfectly clear that gender and sexuality are not the same thing; by my understanding, at least, a seven-year-old boy who manfully volunteers to help his grandmother with her heavy packages is not trying to make out with her.

Have a good Goffman morning!