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.