Erving Goffman and his concept of Stigma.
Erving
Goffman a Canadian-born sociologist and
writer, was considered "the most influential American sociologist of the
twentieth century". His
best-known contribution to social
theory is his study of symbolic
interaction. His innovation was to introduce the dramaturgical analysis in his 1959 book, The Presentation of Self in
Everyday Life. Goffman's other major works include Asylums (1961), Stigma (1963), Interaction Ritual (1967), Frame Analysis (1974), and Forms of Talk (1981)
The concept of Stigma.
The stigma is an atribute that transform to
the person. The person is rejected, because the atribute produces
disparagement ( or discredit). In sociological words, stigma is a relation between
an atribute and stereotype.
Goffman determined 3 types of stigma:
1-Abominations of body: Overt or external
deformations, such as scars, physical manifestations of anorexia,
leprosy , or of a physical disability or social disability,
such as obesity.
2-Deviations in personal traits, including
mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism, and criminal background are
stigmatized in this way.
3-Tribal stigmas- its are traits, imagined or
real, of ethnic group, nationality, or of religion that is deemed to be a
deviation from the prevailing normative of ethnicity, nationality or religion.
In the stigmatic person's encounter with the normal person, the sociology can
identify two moments:
1-The
normal persons, think that the stigmatic person is not human, because, the
human are normal. Therefore, the normal persons prefers move away of the
stigmatic people.
2-The
stigmatic person can feel disgrace and fear, because, he doesn't want to be discriminated.
Therefore, the stigmatic person will try hide your stigma.
The
sociology identify a problem, because, for the stigmatic persons, the social
identity is built on its stigma. So, the stigmatic person will try eliminate
the stigma.
The stigmatic person want to relate
with the normal people, therefore, he must control the information about his
stigma. Goffman calls “the concealment” to the “moral career” that the
stigmatic person must follow for live in society. In other words,
the stigmatic people must hide his stigma, cover his body, lie, and he have to
go to places where his sitgma is normal. For example a hospital, community of
ill people, places where stigma is not a problem for live in
community.
