Stigma: Management of a spoiled social identity - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Stigma: Management of a spoiled social identitySlide2

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Symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism

is a

micro-level

theory based on the idea that people act in accordance with shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions

Herbert

Blumer

, a student of Mead, coined term

and put forward an influential summary of the perspective: people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.

Labeling theory

builds on symbolic

interactionist

principlesSlide3

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Labeling theory

Labeling theory:

how public

labeling, or branding, as deviant, has adverse consequences for further social participation and self-image

most critical

change is in

public

identity, which is a crucial step towards building a long-term deviant

‘career’

If

‘master status’

is deviant, deviant identification becomes the controlling

one

master status:

a status that assumes priority, overrides other status

consideration

Labeling may be

a

‘self-fulfilling prophecy’

‘…

possession of one deviant trait may have a generalized symbolic value, so that people automatically assume that its bearer possesses other undesirable traits allegedly associated with

it’

– i.e., auxiliary

traits

Consequences:

exclusion

from participation in most

conventional groups

“treatments” (medication, institutionalization, incarceration, etc.) which

may

themselves

produce increasing devianceSlide4

"Stigma

is a process by which the reaction of others spoils normal

identity"

Greeks

originated the

term for

"bodily signs designed to expose something unusual and bad

about

the moral status of the

signifier”signs cut or burned into the body, advertising bearer was a slave, criminal, or a traitor - a blemished person, ritually polluted, to be avoided, esp in public places Today, term is applied more to disgrace itself, than to bodily evidence of it Shifts occur in the kinds of disgrace that arouse concern

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Society has a way grouping people into social categories, each with a set of typical attributes

Whenever we meet someone new, we use our experience to anticipate his/her category & attributes, his/her

social identity

a person’s

virtual social identity

refers to the anticipated category and attributes

a person's actual social identity is their actual category and attributes Slide6

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Stigma

Stigma

is a discrepancy between actual and

virtual social identity

that causes us to alter our estimation of them downward

Stigma

is an attribute that is deeply

discrediting

– but it depends on circumstancesan attribute that stigmatizes one person may be typical for another person and is therefore neither creditable nor discreditable in itselfe.g., some jobs cause employees w/o the expected college education to hide this fact; other jobs, however, can lead employees with a degree to keep it a secret, so that they aren't seen as outsiders

e.g., a middle class boy may have no problem being seen going to the library, whereas a gang member may worry about being seen by his associates



Stigma

is really a special kind of relationship between attribute and stereotype Slide7

How do stigmatized deal with

stigma

?

1) attempt

to correct

what he

sees as

objective

basis of failing

disfigured person gets plastic surgeryblind person gets eye treatmenthomosexual gets psychotherapy - in 1963 not transformation to someone ‘normal’ but someone with a record of having corrected a particular blemish

s

usceptibility to

victimization,

exploitation

by quacks

2) devote

private effort to mastering areas of activity felt to be closed

e

.g., wheelchair basketball3) use stigma as an explanation for all social failings4) see suffering as a ‘blessing in disguise’ (11)5) re-assess limitations of ‘normals’normal people, do they really see, hear.? (top 12)

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Mixed contacts

Mixed contacts

: the

moments when

stigmatized individual (SI)

and

normal (N) are

in same "

social situation,"

in immediate physical presence, whether in conversation-like encounter or mere co-presence at unfocused gatheringAnticipation of uncomfortable scenario may lead N & SI to avoid themself-isolation (top 13)8Slide9

Mixed contacts

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When they are forced to interact

you get ‘

primal scenes of sociology,’ cause & effect of stigma must be directly confronted by both sides

SI feels unsure of how Ns will react, ‘uncertainty of status’ (bot 13)

SI must be ‘on’ all the time, self-conscious and calculating about the impression s/he is making – the opposite of ‘sociability’ (

Simmel

)

SI may respond with ‘defensive cowering’ (17)SI may respond with ‘hostile bravado’ (17-18)Ns uncomfortable too, finding SI either too aggressive or too shamefaced, and always too ready to read unintended meanings into our actionsSlide10

The ‘pathology of interaction’

Mead neglects ‘pathological’ interaction and how we manage it

‘Each

potential source of discomfort for him when we are with him can become something we sense he is aware of, aware that we are aware of, and even aware of our state of awareness about his awareness; the stage is then set for the infinite regress of mutual consideration that

Meadian

social psychology tells us how to begin but not how to terminate

.’ (18)



‘infinite

regress of mutual consideration’‘In consequence, attention is furtively withdrawn from its obligatory targets, and self-consciousness and "other-consciousness" occurs, expressed in the pathology of interaction—uneasiness.’ (18)10Slide11

The ‘Own’

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‘Own’: sympathetic

others who share stigma

Provide advice, moral support, acceptance

Downside is the focus is always on their ‘problem’

Some bases of collective life include:

self-help

clubs, residential

clubs, national associations (e.g., AA), informal networks, social service institutions (+ nearby establishments), residential communities (or ghettoes)Slide12

Public representation

12

Advocacy

groups for SI

create

publications

with success

stories,

atrocity tales, debates about collective goals & strategies, info about relevant equipment & treatmentsmay be in competition with others who don’t want to assimilateSome SIs become professional representativesOfficial representatives are not only ones who shape public image of stigmatized category media follows stories of spectacle, prize winning, first of his kindSIs in public eye transfer credit or

discredit/blame to all other members of stigmatized groupSlide13

The ‘Wise’

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‘Wise’:

N

ormals

but

those whose

special situation has

made them privy to the secret life of SI & sympathetic with itgiven a measure of acceptance, a courtesy membership in clan1) people who work in establishments that cater to or control SIs, e.g., nurses, physical therapists, bartenders in gay bars, maids of prostitutes, the police, etc.2) people related through social structure to SI – treated by wider society as the

same, e.g.,

s

pouses, parents, children, other family, and friends

Experience ‘

courtesy stigma

’

Wise may treat SI as ‘normal’

A

‘cult of the stigmatized can occur’ – stigma-phobic response of the Normal countered by stigma-phile response of the WiseBy being quick to carry a burden that’s not ‘really’ theirs, may offend others, e.g.,White people putting on hoodies, claiming ‘I am Trayvon Martin’Slide14

Moral Career

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Persons

with a

particular stigma tend to have similar

learning experiences regarding their plight, and similar changes in conception of self – a

similar

moral

career

that is both cause and effect of commitment to a similar sequence of personal adjustments a socialization processOne phase: SI learns and incorporates the standpoint of the Normal, acquiring the identity beliefs of the wider society and a general idea of what it would be like to possess a particular stigmaAnother phase: SI learns that he possesses a particular stigma and the consequences of possessing itT

iming

of two initial phases of moral career form important patterns,

establishing

a

foundation

for later

developmentSlide15

Four Patterns in Moral Career

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Those with an inborn

stigma who

become

socialized into their

disadvantaged

situation even while they are learning and incorporating the standards

against which

they fall short (32)Those with an inborn stigma grow up in a ‘protective capsule’The point at which the protective capsule breaks varies by class, place of residence and type of stigma but it always gives rise to a moral experience

One

who

becomes stigmatized

later in life, or learns late in life that he has always been

discreditable

The former involves gradual adjustment, the latter, radical reorganization of life

Those

initially socialized in an alien community, who must then learn a second way of being that is felt by those around them to be the real and valid

oneUneasiness felt about new associates may give way to uneasiness concerning old onesSlide16

The turning point

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F

ellow

sufferers more advanced in dealing

with stigma may welcome SI, sparking different emotions

u

neasiness

ambivalence

, ‘affiliation cycles’oscilations in beliefSI often discovers members of the group are like ordinary human beings (39)Slide17

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The discredited and the discreditable

When one possesses a stigma that is ‘known about,’ s/he is

discredited

i.e., when SI’s failing can be perceived by merely directing attention (typically visual) to him/her

e

.g., physical deformity or disability



Focus turns to managing tension in interactions with

normalsIf the stigma is not known about, s/he is discreditable e.g., mental illness, medical/criminal history  Focus turns to managing undisclosed information about a supposed

failing -

passingSlide18

Passing

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'Passing' is when people with a stigma that is not known about (the discreditable) 'pass'

for '

normals

'

The discreditable may attempt to conceal their stigmatizing attributes in a conscious strategy

to passSlide19

Symbols – of prestige & stigma

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S

ymbols

are signs that convey social information

prestige symbol

(aka, status symbol) coveys social information about an individual indicating prestige, honor, or desirable class position

stigma symbol

are signs drawing attention to a debasing identity discrepancy, which reduce society’s valuation of the individualSlide20

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D

isidentifier

A third type of sign is a

disidentifier

disidentifiers

are signs intended to break up an otherwise coherent picture, but in a positive direction desired by the actor

actor attempts to undermine social stereotypes about him/her by displaying some symbol

(

disidentifier) that doesn’t fit with the stereotype, e.g., a homeless person reads a newspaper or book in an attempt to stay the night in some public spaceputting on glasses in an attempt to look more “intellectual” putting on “religious” attire in an attempt to feign belief

taking off “religious” attire in an attempt to disguise beliefSlide21

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As described by A.

Marvasti

, in post-9/11 NYC, US flags were deployed as

disidentifiers

among people suspected of disloyalty, to

pass

as loyal Americans

(“Being Middle Eastern American: Identity Negotiation in the Context of the War on Terror,” 2005)Slide22

The Self and its Other (Ch. IV)

Some may think that established

minority

groups (e.g., blacks, Jews) should

be

the object of analysis, but the key

issue is their place in the

social

structure,

which requires analysis of the history, politics, and current policies of the groupcontingencies encountered in F2F interaction is only part of the problem‘The most fortunate of normals is likely to have a half-hidden failing, and for every little failing there is a social occasion when it will loom large, creating a shameful gap between virtual and actual social identity. Therefore, the occasionally precarious and constantly precarious form a single continuum, their situation analyzable by the same framework.’ (127)We should look

to the

ordinary

for an understanding of

differentness

‘The

question of

social

norms is certainly central, but the concern might be less for uncommon deviations from the ordinary than for ordinary deviations from the

common.’ (127)22Slide23

Stigma vs. Deviance

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Deviance

is not complying with

norms

Stigma

involves violation of norms of special kind, norms concerning

identity

or

being ‘It is a question of the individual's condition, not his will; it is a question of conformance, not compliance.’ (128)Slide24

Some norms take form of ideals and constitute standards against which almost everyone falls short at some stage

in life…

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‘For example, in

an important sense there is only one complete unblushing male in America: a young, married, white, urban, northern, heterosexual Protestant father of college education, fully employed, of good complexion, weight, and height, and a recent record in sports. Every American male tends to look out upon the world from this perspective, this constituting one sense in which one can speak of a common value system in America. Any male who fails to qualify in any of these ways is likely to view himself--during moments at least--as unworthy, incomplete, and inferior; at times he is likely to pass and at times he is likely to find himself being apologetic or aggressive concerning known-about aspects of himself he knows are probably seen as undesirable.

The general

identity-values

of a society may be fully entrenched nowhere, and yet they can cast some kind of shadow on the encounters encountered everywhere in daily living

.

’ (128)Slide25

Culture,

subcultures

Culture

: shared understandings and their representations in symbols or practices (Tilly, 2005)

Subculture

:

a

cultural group within a larger culture

with shared understandings and practices at variance with those of the larger culturea subculture is a subdivision of a national cultureSociology Factsheet on ‘Youth Subcultures,’ in the UK highlights ‘goths,’ ‘emos,’ and ‘chavs’Styles draw on American culture, but meanings are somewhat different in UK

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Chav,

per

Sociology Factsheet on ‘Youth Subcultures,’

Curriculum

Press, UK

“This

refers to a subculture which

originated from

within the working class culture of England. Chav fashion is derived from American hip hop (African American) and Guido (Italian-American) fashions and stereotypes such as gold jewelry and designer clothing combined with elements of working class British street fashion. The defining features of the chav clothing is the Burberry pattern (notably a now discontinued

baseball

cap) and from a

variety of

other casual and sportswear brands. Tracksuits, hoodies

and baseball

caps are particularly associated with this stereotype.

Lauren Cooper

who is played by Catherine Tate in the Catherine Tate show, is a stereotype of a chav female. They aspire to the latest mobile phone and other accessories. They tend to have a dislike of goths and emos as well as other ‘alternative’ subcultures.”

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What’s the ‘chav

-bashing’ all about?

27

I

n

Chavs

: The Demonization of the Working Class

,

Owen Jones argues:

‘The word “chav” has become a way to stereotype a vast underprivileged section of our society.  It’s a term that has become synonymous with the white working class, a way of rationalizing inequality.  After all, if the working class is full of spendthrift layabouts who lack aspiration, then social programs aimed at poverty reduction become a waste of time and money.’Just the latest object of middle-class derision & moral superiority?

Does contempt reveal

more about

the detractors? Status anxiety?

Is this racism?

t

argets are generally white, but ‘whites [who’ve] become black,’ as British historian David Starkey put it in response to the UK riots

How do racial/class politics in UK compare to US?