Giddens (as cited in Ritzer & Goodman, 2003) argues that structure and agency, although a dichotomy, mustn’t be regarded as working independent of one another. Instead the nature of human interaction and action relies on the interlaced mechanism of agency and structure. Human practices are recursive, thus individuals create both their cognizance and the structural conditions within which they act. Since social actors are reflexive and observe the ongoing flow of activities and structural conditions, they adapt their actions responsively to those evolving insights. An example of such adaptation is the ways in which stigmatized individuals manage their identity to conform to the structural norms and expectations of society. Goffman’s concept of ‘information control’ as a means of ‘stigma management’ provides us with a scenario in which agency and structure work together as both the justification and reason for motivated action for a stigmatized individual. Goffman (1963) implies that individuals are responsible for their own actions as well as able to manage the interpretations of others in relation their actions. Thus, stigmatized actors can tactfully represent themselves in a more socially acceptable and positive light. This is done primarily to control the conduct of others, especially the potentially negative responsive treatment towards the stigmatized person. Linking behaviour to personal values and belief systems, Mills (1940) adds to this discussion by claiming that motives are the terms used by social actors, to organize and guide their conduct. The actor and the audience, as a means to bring order to a situation, justify and confirm behaviour and mediate the reactions of others using the vocabulary of motives. Thus, motiv... ... middle of paper ... ...ng. And as suggested by Mills’ (1940) “Rather than interpreting actions and language as external manifestations of subjective and deeper lying elements in individuals, the research task is the locating of particular types of action within typal frames of normative actions and socially situated clusters of motive” (p. 913). Thus, echoing Mills’ (1940) conceptualization of motives as “varying in content and character with historical epochs and societal structures” (p. 913), the vocabularies of human motivation must be considered as fluid and dynamic a concept as the concept of identity itself. Just as the theory of structuration stresses the duality of structure and agency, it must be understood that there can be no agency without structures that shape motives into practices and likewise there can be no structures independent of the routine practices that create them.
According to Alice Watson (1984), who wrote about the history of Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults (JSPOA), states that the agency came together from an earlier community effort in the 1970 by agencies, churches and local organizations that observe the needs for more sufficient, low-cost housing for the elderly. The agency formed a partnership that sponsored the construction of Conlon-Lihfe Towers, a 216-unit facility built under private auspices as a complete operation and now supervised by the New York City Housing Authority. Once it became evident that the housing would come into being, there were problems that remained a central concern, such as changing a variety of services to allow seniors to stay in the community. For a while, the community had done well in developing housing that would enable older persons to remain in their community. However, other crucial services were unavailable. “At that time, only two senior centers served the area. There were no elderly health clinics, few recreational programs, no educational or transportation services for older people, few in home services (other than for Medicaid eligibilities), and no programs to promote safety, a primary concern of the elderly “The lack of these services brought about changes that were implemented.
Deviant labeling can cause a process that can lead to exclusion from specific relationships with others and from legitimate opportunities. There are two separate processes between social exclusion. The first is conventional others, peers, community members, and gatekeepers in the opportunity structure can reject or devalue the labeled person. The second process of social exclusion within labeling may lead to social withdrawal due to rejection or devaluation. Social interactin of normal people and stigmatized individuals can often entail uneasiness, embarrassment, ambiguity, and intense efforts at impression management. Individuals who are labeled as deviant often internalize the beliefs about how people devalue and react negatively to labeled deviants. With drawls of people who have been labeled can lead to fewer social networks and fewer attempts at seeking a satisfying
...llness. A Report on the Fifth International Stigma Conference . June 4–6, 2012. Ottawa, Canada
How do we understand and evaluate human motivation is the subject of Kenneth Burke's A Grammar of Motives (Bizzel and Herzberg, 2001, p. 1298). To analyze people's motives, Burke developed his pentad; the five terms he claims are present when investigating motive. The pentad consists of:
The stigma put on display to show that it is a part of their life. For example, Leon Anderson, David A. Snow, and Daniel Cress talk about the stigmas that homeless people have to manage within society. While they focus on the homeless, the concepts and strategies given can be expressed towards any deviant group, especially those of secondary deviance. There are various avenues that are used by deviant individuals for managing a stigma, and there are two sets of strategies that these avenues are categorized under. The first set of strategies is in-group strategies. These sets of strategies are undertaken when the actions involve either a sole individual or the individual along with those that are affected by a similar stigma or label of secondary
Tayler, Theresa. "Breaking Through the Stigma." Calgary Herald. 09 Oct. 2011: A.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
Thoit, Link, Bruce G., and Jo C. Phelan. "Labeling and Stigma." Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer Netherlands, 2013. 525-541.
By attempting to imitate the expected forms of expression of mainstream identities, the person is choosing to diminish part of their self. While Blackmore suggests that, “What makes us different is our ability to imitate (Blackmore p. 3),” covering can have strongly negative effects upon an individual and ostracized groups. By choosing to cover, an individual internalizes and upholds the ideology that some identities are better than others. Some people argue against a negative view of covering, suggesting that it is product of nurture and not fully a person’s conscious decision. Excusing covering by simply explaining it as a byproduct of a person’s upbringing is harmful because it does not hold the person accountable for their own actions. However, once the excuse behind explaining covering as an unconscious decision, the factor of consciousness is important to consider. Due to the
Mental health illness is often created and diagnosed from the subjective judgment of mental health professionals. Often times, diagnosis consists of undesirable traits perceived by the dominant society as a problem. Society creates beliefs and dictates social norms in order to instilling social order. Moreover, marginalized groups that are often disenfranchised are often diagnosed and labeled with mental illnesses, because of the inability to become resilient and successful from impoverished conditions. Delgado and Stefancic (2001) describe Intersectionality as multiple identities that oppress individuals that feature undesirable traits depicted in society. As a result, many people of color, features of disability and women may be diagnosed with mental health disorders due to multiple stressors in society. Hence, marginalized groups that are perceived as less desirable are likely to be diagnosed with mental health illnesses, because of their status and position in society. The mental health stigma is a form of social control, as mental health diagnosis is labeled from the dominant society’s beliefs and ideas. Furthermore, mental health diagnosis causes stigmas, and produces the inability for people to become resilient from the labels that have been created by the dominant society. Herein, many of these mental health traits are socially constructed in order to instill social control to disenfranchised groups. As a result, the placement of people in asylums and mental health diagnosis are attributed to socio-economic perspective due to social control.
My supervisor (who is also the executive officer and licensed clinical social worker) emphasizes the agency’s functioning under a humanistic model that espouses a non-punitive and unconditionally welcoming environment. However, due to the legalistic nature of the agency serving primarily the well-being and change of mandated clients (i.e., clients who are either on parole or probation, and who have been formally incarcerated for short or extensive periods of time), it does not (and possibly cannot) use a Harm’s Reduction approach; instead, it champions a no-drug use, abstinence-only policy, but is not directly draconian to violators. Instead, warnings are given to clients who test positive during
Macmillan: Basingstoke. Goffman, E (1963) Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Routledge: New York :. ONS (2011). The Office for National Statistics: 2011 Census - Population and Household Estimates for England and Wales, March 2011.
supporting children and their families. This could be used where a family member maybe seeing a
Stigma is socially constructed and displayed through exclusion, blame, or devaluation of an individual or a group of individuals because of a negative social judgment towards these individual(s) (Cockerham 2014). Stigma comes in several forms, whether that be the stigmatization of one’s physical irregularities or mental irregularities. Whereas, Cockerham (2014) defines discrimination as when an individual or group of individuals unfairly and prejudicially behave towards certain forms of human-beings or objects. Discrimination can also take on many forms. People can discriminate against practically anything, but some of the most common forms are discrimination against one’s age, gender, sex, race, physical illness, and, of course, mental illness.
... but rather perspectives.” In conclusion, Goffman illustrates how the study of stigma can be used to understand social issues related to deviations and deviance. Deviance exists in all societies. According to Goffman, “Social deviants, as defined, flaunt their refusal to accept their place and are temporarily tolerated in this gestural rebellion, providing it is restricted within the ecological boundaries of their community.” While there are these social norms within society that dictate how the stigmatized and “normals” should interact, deviants act as a paradox to these expectations.
Stigma is a powerful tool of social control. Stigma can be used to marginalize, exclude and exercise power over individuals who show certain characteristics. While the societal rejection of certain social groups (e.g. 'homosexuals, injecting drug users, sex workers') may predate HIV/AIDS, the disease has, in many cases, reinforced this stigma. By blaming certain individuals or groups, society can excuse itself from the responsibility of caring for and looking after such populations. This is seen not only in the manner in which 'outsider' groups are often blamed for bringing HIV into a country, but also in how such groups are denied access to the services and treatment they need.