Stigmatization

Stigmatization is a social process where a person is treated as different. People with more power think that people with less power are not equal to them, but are inferior. Therefore, the powerful stigmatize the powerless in order to maintain inequalities between groups. Stigma involves the discrediting of an individual because he or she belongs to a devalued group with low social power. The most common form of stigma may be that resulting from poverty. A poor person feels stigmatized by being out of the common circle. For example, a poor child may feel stigmatized by being put into a reserved category of social welfare in school. Hence, stigmatization is inevitable where poverty is a main theme. Erving Goffman, a pioneer in stigma research, defined stigma as a spoiled social identity resulting from an attribute that is deeply discrediting. He points out that there are three types of stigma: bodily deformities, bad personal character (abominations of the [Page 1473]body and character blemishes), and tribal stigma (from race and ethnicity).

The term stigma dates back to the Greeks, who referred to a mark on a person’s body to indicate inferiority. In Greece, slaves, criminals, and traitors’ skin were cut or burned in order to identify them as immoral people. In public places, these people were ignored. Disease stigma also prevailed in the earliest societies. In the ancient civilizations of China, India, and Egypt, society marginalized people with leprosy because of its potentially disfiguring nature and association with sin. This kind of stigmatizing was also found in the Old and the New Testaments. Hence, early accounts of stigmatization were based on disfigurement. However, stigma is not just a physical mark, but rather a product of social interaction. In the first century, the convicted prostitutes in Rome were forced to wear a toga as a badge of dishonor. The Jews, in Medieval Europe, were required to wear particular forms of clothing. In India, certain lower-caste people were required to either expose or cover certain body parts when they encountered a higher caste.

Stigma disqualifies someone from full social acceptance. The stigma can be self-evident and be discredited or discreditable. The discredited are people who vary from the ideal human being. The discreditable vary from ideal humans and are permanently at risk of being found out. Either way, the stigmatized person is not comfortable with feelings of having a spoiled identity. Goffman suggests strategies to cope with negative feelings. Covering, distancing, compartmentalizing, and embracing are common strategies employed by stigmatized persons. In each of these situations, the process involved is information control and personal identity. To reduce negative feelings, people try to control the exposition of discredited information and increase self-worth.

Poverty represents an almost universal stigma. Poor people are always treated as different. Class segregation may date back to the inception of human beings. The experiences of poverty-driven stigma revolve around experiences of devaluation, exclusion, degradation, and disadvantage. Moreover, extreme poverty is experienced as dehumanizing. Stigma and shame experiences for people who live in poverty can be as devastating as the economic consequences. In addition, extreme poverty is experienced as dehumanizing. Therefore, poor people living with some form of negative condition like disability, disfigurement, or humiliation may suffer more from an additional stigma.

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