A Critical Review of Erving Goffman’s Stigma Essay

Stevenson, A., & Lindberg, C. (Eds.). (2011). Stigma [Def. 1]. In New Oxford American dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved February 8, 2016, from

Mental illness and the stigma associated with it illustrate the concept of the sociological imagination. Living with a mental illness is a private trouble, affecting the individual personally, physically, psychologically, socially, and even economically. The trouble is made even more private in the respect that those with anxiety/depression/etcetera often suffer in silence since their affliction is not necessarily visible to others. The stigma associated with mental illness exacerbates the individual, while simultaneously lending itself to the public issues regarding mental illness.

While stigma may not necessarily be a cause of a person’s mental disorder, it can certainly contribute to the complication and perpetuation of their illness. The effect of stigma goes well beyond just the patient and provides a commentary on society’s overall level of intolerance of those who are considered different from the majority. By recognizing the level of stigma that exists, perhaps we can alter that behavior and gravitate towards a more productive attitude towards mental illness.

To many a stigma is a disgraceful flaw, that of a negative presence. In mental health this stigma is overwhelming. Approximately 57.7 million Americans experience a mental health disorder in any given year. (National Alliance on Mental Illness) People in dire need of help are not seeking it. Mental illnesses are going undiagnosed. The mental health stigma is having a negative impact on the proper diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.

The word itself, used when branding lower class Ancient Greek citizens (around 500 BC) after they’d committed a crime, hasn’t altered in meaning. Although society might not physically give them a symbol of their sin, group mentality ensures those victimized a life full of judgement. The consequences of stigmatization against those with metal incapacities are large and often seen as a whole other weakness altogether. These pre-disposed judgments of others, thrust upon those with mental illness, can easily undermine and overpower the life goals and achievements through reduced participation in society’s staple components (education opportunities, employment, and even relationships with others) (Source D). The worldwide goal of eliminating stigma's effects on people labeled “mentally ill” has become a major public health priority over the past ten years via nationwide campaigns. Attempts to change public stigma have been achieved in three ways- protest, education, and direct contact with those usually targeted (Source E). The protest aspect plays on the idea of a public shaming by telling the public to suppress the thoughts and let go of previous inhibitions. The educational aspect of spreading awareness seeks to decrease stigmatizing myths of mental illness by contrasting them with the cold hard facts. Lastly, direct contact tries to erase the prejudice and discrimination of mental illness through interactions between the “public” and people in recovery, showing them how alike we are. The overall hope is that if progressive people such as scientists, public speakers, and even well-known psychiatrists

Until recently, few health insurance plans provided coverage for mental health services to the same extent as physical health services, if they were covered at all. The reasons for the discrimination in health insurance vary, but mental illnesses historically have not been well understood by the public, and people have had a hard time understanding that mental illnesses are biologically based diseases that affect the mind and body just like any other disease that has solely physical manifestations. A stigma is said to occur when people view something in a negative way because of a distinguishing characteristic or trait that is thought to be, or is, a disadvantage. The stigma surrounding mental illness has led to direct and obvious discrimination and one of its results, and the focus of this paper, is the discrimination to the mentally ill and mentally infirm by not providing health insurance that adequately covers mental illness diagnosis and treatments. Despite the progress of mental health parity legislation, the passing of the ACA and the advances in mental health research that have revealed that mental illnesses are biologically based, a stigma still remains around individuals with mental illnesses, that has led to exemptions, road-blocking the goal of full parity. This paper demonstrateS that while advances in the availability of private insurance coverage for those with mental illnesses has improved, there are still loopholes that private insurance

Labelling and stigma has now more than ever become an increasing problem with cultural and social views being extrapolated onto domestic violence victims and mental health patients. Stigma is a concept that consists of three parts: self-stigma, structural stigma and public stigma. Public stigma is a culturally constructed view by society based on a strong disapproval of what is perceived to be different from the ‘norm’, thus making them a marginalised group (Corrigan & O’Shaughnessy, 2007, pp. 90-91). This type of stigma links in with structural stigma that has policies in place which exclude these types of people from further life opportunities and labels them as ‘different’. These two types of stigma intertwine with self-stigma that often

Shunning and ignoring mental health patients comes under the umbrella of stigmatization. Recent interpretations of the term stigma have become somewhat confused and, at times, blur with those of social exclusion and discrimination (Jorm & Oh, 2009). To attempt to clarify the meaning of stigma, Goffman's seminal work is very useful. Goffman's (1963) monograph contributes to the potential lack of clarity by stating that stigma involves a combination of personal attributes and social stereotypes related to societal access to and endorsement of well-known "unacceptable" or "inferior" human characteristics. Technically therefore, a person may not be mentally ill, but others may attribute this condition to her or him, draw on entrenched stereotypes, and interact with the person in a manner arising from the observers'

People who are mentally ill or disabled are often stigmatized in society and deemed of lesser value than those who are “normal,” meaning they do not have a mental illness or disability. There are only a few options for treatment within the disabled community and all of the options are unfair. They are, hospitalization to imprisonment to being homeless. These so-called treatments for those who are considered “abnormal” and “sick” dehumanize them, prevent them from making their own life decisions, devalue their quality of life, and further perpetuate stereotypes by separating the normal and abnormal people (as if they are different). In my paper, I will utilize the article “A Training Ground for Untrained Artists” by Nathaniel Richdec and a

The mentally ill were removed from society, so their condition was viewed as negative and sometimes dangerous. In Erving Goffman’s book, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, he maintains this idea by noting, “The stigmatized individual is asked to act so as to imply

The definition of a stigma is, a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person (Oxford Dictionary). In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lennie and Crooks worked very hard at the farm both physically and mentally. Both men are forced to live partial lives, due to others diminishing their life worth. Lennie and Crooks, both have to deal with the lives they were born with. Stigmas oppress people in different ways and are present in many other countries; a person that holds a stigma must overcome many forms of derision.

Goffman felt that there was already good work done on the topic of stigma. However, he wanted to discuss the previous works and his own ideas regarding stigma. Writing Stigma Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity provided him a place to discuss his ideas regarding prior work on stigma, and to give his spin on it.

The idea of stigma and what it is like to be a stigmatized person was conducted by sociologist Erving Goffman. He analyzed how stigmatized individuals feel about themselves and their relationships with people that are considered “normal”. Stigmatized individuals are people who are not socially accepted and are constantly eager to alter their social identifies: physically deformed people, mentally ill patients, drug addicts, homosexuals, etc.

Mental health and its stigma are an important issue plaguing today’s society. Many do not understand or acknowledge the severity of mental illness. The stigma against mental

Erving Goffman’s theory of social stigma (1963) will be used as a guideline for the thesis and will act as a basis for further research on personal and perceived depression stigma. Stigma is a deeply discrediting attribute which has a strong relationship to stereotype (Goffman, 1963) Goffman defines stigma as a gap between “virtual social identity and actual social identity” and states that stigmata are bodily signs which deviate from the norm (Goffman, 1963). According to him, three different types of stigma exist: (1) physical deformities, (2) blemishes of individual character and (3) tribal stigma.