`` Little Pink `` : Social Media And Chinese People

Stigma can be expressed in various term, it can be a brand, labelling or identification. It is a differentiation of a person resulting to a boundary between “us” and “them” (Link and Phelan 2001). These affect consumers in a way they are discriminated and treated differently because they have mental illness. The effect of stigma can take away the rights of consumers who are suffering from mental illness causing social dilemmas (SANE Australia 2013). A survey shows 74% of consumers experience stigma from school, work, and social activities. Consumers had only one feedback, to reduce stigma so they can go with their life peacefully and engage in normal social activities without discrimination (SANE Australia 2006). It is

The effects of self-stigma can lead to a lack of self esteem, lack of confidence, isolation and the increased likelihood of avoiding professional help for their illness. This then has an over all affect on quality of life and where one sees themselves fitting within society (Barney, Griffiths, Jorm & Christensen, 2005; Griffiths & Christensen, 2004; Newell & Gournay, 2000).

Provided this, I began to notice as I would scroll through social media platforms, such as twitter, that non-Asians overly emphasized specific aspects of Asian society. For example, many would only recognize anime as strictly Japanese and dramatic shows as Korean dramas, when in reality every culture and race has dramatic television shows just as in the United States or Turkey. I often recognized this confusion of knowledge occurring often on twitter or Instagram. As very stereotypical and frankly racist remarks would be exposed by the supposed fans on specific people, or about specific shows where many people often saw nothing wrong with how they were being portrayed. While others commented about how all of Asians are the same others tried to explain how they actually live like. Therefore as I continued to explore

Patrick W. Corrigan and Deepa Rao, “On the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness: Stages, Disclosure, and Strategies for Change,” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/Revue canadienne de psychiatrie 57.8 (2012): 464–469, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3610943/.

On February 12, 2015, journalist, Jon Ronson, published an article in New York Times Magazine containing information of thirty year old, Justine Sacco. For the time being, Sacco was the senior director of corporate communications at IAC and was bashed publicly on social media after interpreting racism on her Twitter account in 2014. In Ronson’s essay, “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life,” he presents readers with his one-on-one interviews of Justine Sacco. In 2013, Justine Sacco was traveling during the holidays to visit her family when she began to post on Twitter. The first occasion of her racist tweets took place while she was leaving John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. She took to twitter, “Weird German Dude: You’re in First Class. It’s 2014. Get some deodorant” (par. 3), in reference to a fellow passenger on her flight. The next episode took place in Heathrow, a London airport, where she tweeted, “Chilly- cucumber sandwiches- bad teeth. Back in London” (par. 5). Her last mishap was on her way to Cape Town, South Africa, as she cited, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white” (par. 6). Amidst Ronson’s personal interviews with Justine Sacco, the two spoke in regards to what she tweeted onto her account. Sacco found her tweets humorous as she was posting them, but was quick to clarify that she was not being racist, when talking with Ronson. She was referred to as a racist person by tens of thousands of people and she believed she was being misread and wrongfully accused. There is a fine line between humor and seriousness when it comes to social media and Sacco lacked the knowledge of this philosophy.

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.

Last week in game three of the World Series, a professional baseball player named Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture after hitting a homerun off the opposing pitcher, Yu Darvish. Darvish is Japanese. Gurrirel then called him a Chinito which translates to little chinese boy. Although the MLB suspended Guriel for the first five games of the 2018 season, Yuli’s social media exploded with hate. People were calling him racist and were commenting that his wife should be hung and their children should be raped. Although his actions were very wrong, people should keep their comments to themselves. The act of public shaming is very obvious to most kids and adults in this generation, however, it is not new. Public shaming has been around since the beginning of time and it is evident in literature like in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Of course, nowadays society sees it even more because of the internet and social media. Whether online or in person, public shaming is an act of bullying and punishment and it leads to depression and suicidal thoughts. The concept of public humiliation should be left in the past because of its impact on a, b, and c.

Barrier studies show that stigma is the fourth highest barrier to seeking help (Clement et al, 2014) proving why it is fundamental to research stigma.

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

Hence, those who violate these norms result in exhibiting deviance, or a behavior that violates society’s social standards. A person can gain this deviant behavior by physical or behavioral traits, thus acquiring a negative or positive social stigma. The term stigma is used to categorize the labels a society uses to diminish a definite group of people. Unfortunately, most people are stigmatized by their past acts of deviant behavior that they may not be engaging in, for example an ex-convict or ex- mental patient. Technology and new innovations have also contributed to having an influence in social interactions and standards of behavior. Many of the illegal acts done in the internet including pirating software or music have no social stigma attached to them due the approval of the online community.

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

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.

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).