The Sociology Book

195

The causes of stigmatization are numerous, but can include idle

gossip and negative attitudes that arise from ignorance and/or class-

or race-based tensions. This then leads to negative stereotyping of an

individual by the wider group. Over time, the individual internalizes

these labels to the extent that they inform the person’s self-evaluation and

identity. By this point, the individual has acquired a stigmatized identity.

seek out social types who they
believe will act sympathetically
toward them.
Goffman identifies three
categories of people in particular
who are liable to fulfill this role.
The first are “the own”: people
who have a similarly stigmatized
attribute—for example, members
of a drug-addiction recovery group.
The second category is “the wise”:
people who work in an institution
or agency that supports individuals
who possess a stigmatizing trait
(care workers, disability officers,
nurses, mental health therapists,
and social workers, for example).
The third category identified
by Goffman includes individuals
that the stigmatized person knows
very well and who are likely to
be empathetic toward them,
such as the partner of someone
with a disability or an addiction.

Crossing boundaries
It is generally accepted within
sociology that Goffman’s detailed
observations of human interactions
and of the interpersonal dynamics
of small-scale groups remain
unparalleled. Anthony Giddens,
for example, draws heavily on
Goffman’s ideas about human
behavior and identity formation in
his much acclaimed “structuration”
theory, which discusses the link
between structures and human
interaction. Pierre Bourdieu also
refers to Goffman’s work in his
exploration of the extent to which
people are able to change who
they are and how they feel within
certain contexts.
British social thinker Anthony
Wootton has argued, however, that
Goffman’s work universalizes and
identifies certain attributes as once
and for all liable to be the cause
of stigmatizing behavior. But
normative expectations and moral

evaluations of certain attributes

and behaviors change as society

progresses. So, he says, whether

or not mental illness and physical

disability could still be said to

be the cause of stigma is highly

questionable in certain social

and national contexts.

Goffman’s work straddles the

disciplinary boundaries between

sociology and social psychology—

his theories have therefore been

taken up by thinkers from a wide

range of academic backgrounds.

Within sociology, his ideas about

stigma have been applied very

effectively by British social

thinker Gill Green to consider the

experiences of people with long-

term illness, including those who

have contracted the HIV virus.

And social worker John Offer

has used Goffman’s concepts

to consider the reintegration of

CULTURE AND IDENTITY

stigmatized individuals back into

the community. Goffman’s work

also remains relevant politically—

in particular, by offering a means

of understanding how to address

the problem of the stigmatization

of minority groups in modern

multicultural societies. ■

The stigmatized individual

may find that he feels

unsure how normals will

identify and receive him.

Erving Goffman

Effects of stigmatization

include:

• Feelings of worthlessness
  
  
  • Excessive self-evalution
    
    
    • Lack of self-confidence
      
      
      • Loss of reputation
      
      
      • Social withdrawal
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Causes of stigmatization

include:

• Behavioral expectations
  
  
  • Negative stereotyping
    
    
    • Negative attitudes
      
      
      • Popular media
        
        
        • Gossip
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Non-stigmatized

people or “normals”

Stigmatized

person

Negatively labeled and

marginalized by the group