What is stigma?
When an individual is disqualified from full social acceptance.
How is stigma used?
As a characteristic, one that is undesirable, contradicts stereotypes of what a person is supposed to be. Prevents someone from having good status
How does Goffman view stigma?
Stigma is a means of classifying people. We make guesses of people’s social identity.
What is Goffman’s definition of social identity?
The assumptions about a person’s moral character you make immediately upon meeting a stranger
What is Goffman’s two social identities?
Virtual social identity and actual social identity
What is virtual social identity?
The false identity that is created by stereotypes, assumptions and stigma attached to people
What is actual social identity?
The real identity and actions that may defy the perceived identity of
What is the difference between Goffman and identity theorists?
Identity theorists discuss how we create our identity. Goffman’s theory emerges from the assumptions that people make.
What are the sources of stigma?
Stigma emerges when your value is reduced, or when your value may be reduced
What are responses to stigma?
Correcting the deficiency, taking over an area, and Disengagement from reality
What is the “correcting the deficiency” stigma response?
Trying to change yourself and get rid of the abnormality.
What are the consequences of “correcting the deficiency” stigma response?
Does not result in full acceptance. Only changes your status, from being a person who has a blemish, to a person who used to have a blemish
What is the “taking over an area” stigma response?
Devoting a lot of effort to become excellent in an activity that you’re not supposed to be good at.
What are the consequences of the “taking over an area” stigma response?
Does not result in full acceptance. May include stigmatization and bring more attention to those attributes.
What is the “disengagement from reality” stigma response?
Avoiding interaction with “normals”, framing stigma as a learning experience, using stigma to criticize the “normals”
