Stigma as a Process by Which the Reaction of Others Spoils Normal Identity

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Stigma as a Process by Which the Reaction of Others Spoils Normal Identity

The American sociologist, Erving Goffman, introduced into sociological

discourse the notion of stigma. Stigma was used by the Greeks to mean

a bodily sign inflicted upon a person to mark them as outcasts from

normal society. However, due to Goffman's work, stigma has come to

mean any "condition, attribute or trait which marks an individual as

culturally unacceptable or 'inferior'" (Scambler 1991:186). Goffman

was following in the interactionist tradition of sociology - founded

by G. H. Mead. The interactionist perspective argues that our

self-concept is created through our interactions with others: we learn

to see ourselves as others see us and through this we build a sense of

our own identity. Goffman added that we become skilled in how to

present ourselves so as to protect our identity. However in the case

of disabled or ill people, this self-presentation is under threat

because illness and disability is often seen as a deviation from

'normality'. The reaction of others to the disability disrupts the

normal social interaction. The person is denied a normal identity

because of their 'stigma'. This essay will first discuss Goffman's

theory of stigma with reference to some sociological studies of

disability (the term disability will henceforth include chronic

illness). Then there will be an analysis of the subsequent

modifications to Goffman's theory and the criticisms of the

interactionist perspective on disability. This essay will conclude

that Goffman's descriptive analysis of stigma provides an important

lens through which to view the experience of disabil...

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