Being A Stigmatized Person By Sociologist Erving Goffman 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

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.

The majority of people that have a severe mental illness are object to challenges in double measure. From one point of view, they wrestle with the symptoms and disablement that result from the illness. From another point, they are tested by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that stem from the misunderstandings about mental illness. As a culmination of both, people with a mental illness are stripped of the chances that define a quality life such as a good job, safe housing, adequate health care, and a connection with a varied group of people. Although research has gone a long way to understand the affect of the disease, it only recently has begun to explain the stigma of mental illness (Corrigan). The lives of people who are living with a mental illness are many times drastically adjusted by the symptoms of the illness and everyone’s response to them. While symptoms can normally be diminished by a number of actions, the intrinsic stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illness may continue on for a lifetime and can manifest themselves in a number of understated and non-understated ways. Normally, when one thinks of a stigma, they think of disgrace that is associated with a particular event, circumstance, or occasion. People with a mental illness are most often branded as an effect of their behavior, appearance, therapy, their economic status, and also the negative depictions in the media of the mental illnesses. People with a mental illness often have a “stereotype

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'

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

Stigmas come in two different types: public and self. A public stigma is the reaction that the general public has to people with invisible disabilities (Corrigan and Watson 16-17). On the other hand, self-stigma is the prejudice which people with invisible disabilities turn against themselves. Both types of stigma can have a significantly negative impact on someone who suffers from an invisible disability. Public stigma reinforces stereotypes and prejudice misattributed to invisible disabilities and self-stigma stems from widely known public stigma, leading to a negative outlook in regards to having an invisible disability. The visibility of a potentially stigmatizing identity— such as schizotypal personality disorder— has been suggested to be the primary feature that causes those with invisible disabilities to

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.

After viewing the TedTalk presented by Rick Guidotti, I began to imagine a world where the following scenario would become commonplace. Differences in others would be considered, studied, and approached with a child-like curiosity instead of being looked upon with fear, disdain, misunderstanding, and unfounded discrimination. Some may argue that this type of scenario is much too utopian in nature. Yet, I propose that we have an inescapable responsibility as change agents to re-examine our personal viewpoints, beliefs, and paradigms around the differences we perceive in others. It follows that based on this video, I have come to understand stigma as arising from negative connotations that have been inaccurately attributed to perceived or actual differences in others. To me, stigma represents a negative association that has been inappropriately linked to one or more physical/mental traits or characteristics. That is, a unique quality about the self that is distinct from others. For instance, Mr. Guidotti indicates that the "red albino eye" has been publically thought of as an irrefutable hallmark of albinism, even though contradictions to this rule have been noted such as blue eyes.

The main point Erving Goffman made in his article “Stigma and Social Identity” how different types of stigma effect people in their daily life. You could be stigmatized in many different ways such as how you look, if you are handicapped or not, or even if you are from a different ethnicity. Goffman defines three different primary typologies of stigma and they are: (1) abomination of the body, which means someone has physical disabilities, (2) Blemishes of individual character, meaning moral failing such as rapist, sex offender, and (3) tribal stigma, meaning your ethnical background and religion (Pontell, 2016, p. 96-97). Goffman also talks about how the individuals, who are stigmatized by the society, feel when they are around normal individuals.

Stigma has been said to be “a feeling of being negatively differentiated owing to a particular condition, group membership or state in life”(Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012, p. 458). There are typically two types of mental illness stigma that are discussed. Public stigma, also known as societal stigma, is the stigma associated with the prejudicial attitudes the public holds towards those people who suffer from mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012; Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan & Kubiak, 2003). Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is the loss of self-esteem, withdrawal, and personal shame that some with mental illness will experience. Self-stigma is usually developed when those who suffer from mental illness associate the negative stereotypes the public holds with themselves (Chronister, Chou, & Lieo, 2013; Corrigan et al., 2003).

Stigma can be defined as a mark of shame or ignominy that sets individuals apart from others. Goffman notes “Society establishes the means of categorizing persons and the complement of attributes felt to be ordinary and natural for members of each of these categories”. (Goffman) Given, when a person is labeled by said illness, disorder, or deviancy they are seen as a part of a stereotyped group and as a result are stigmatized by the “normals”. Moreover, the routines of social interactions in society allow us to create normative expectations and demands for the way ones in said society are expected to

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.

There are many stigmas, or misconceptions and misperceptions in our society which need to be shattered. I believe that one of the worse possible effects of stigma is that it causes those affected by psychological disorders, or mental illness, to crawl more deeply into themselves because it provokes a sense of shame. Stigma thrusts those suffering with mental illness into a sense of isolation, social exclusion, and discrimination. “Stigma can lead to discrimination … It may be obvious or direct … Or it may be unintentional or subtle…” (Staff). Stigma is often as big as the illness itself and I confess to having been a perpetuator of this dreaded thing, although not consciously aware and without the intent of furthering the harm of someone.

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.

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).