GENDER AND AGE DISPLAYS IN CEREMONIAL TOKENS

The present paper analyzes birthday cards (N = 234) in terms of their content and presentation using Goffman's 1979 discussion of gender dis plays in advertising. It was hypothesized that cards intended for wome n compared to men, and to children compared to adults, would not only be similar to one another, but would reflect their shared subordinate and disvalued position in the social structure. Birthday cards were ra ndomly selected from fourteen retail outlets and coded in terms of Gof fman's display categories. relative weight, the feminine touch, functi onal rank, ritualization of subordination, and licensed withdrawal. Th e results are mixed, supporting, in general, the hypotheses. A discuss ion follows.