Social stigma

Social stigmarefers to extreme disapproval of (or discontent with) apersonorgroupon socially characteristic grounds that are perceived, and serve to distinguish them, from other members of asociety.Stigmamay then be affixed to such a person, by the greater society, who differs from their cultural norms.

Quotes

• Most people with mental disorders inChinanever receive treatment. There is often astigmaattached to such ailments. Some think that people with psychiatric conditions are possessed byevilspirits.Many see mental disorders as a sign ofweakness,and regard them as socially contagious: a relative of someone with a serious disorder may find it hard tomarry.Familiessometimes have their kin treated far away to hide the “shame”of their condition, or keep them hidden athome.Even manymedical studentsworry that those working with psychiatric patients risk catching their disease, says Xu Ni of “It Gets Brighter”, a mental-health NGO inBeijing.
  • The Economist,“China wakes up to its mental-health problems”,(Jan 28th 2017).

• Research on stigmatized groups has historically focused on people’s attitudes toward group members whose visible traits distinguish them from other individuals (Dienstbier, 1970; Dion, 1989). “Visible” traits (Dion & Kawakami, 1996) are physical characteristics immediately identifiable by sight, such as a person’s race or sex. In contrast, “invisible” traits, such as political orientation or religion, are not immediately identifiable from one’s physical appearance (Goffman, 1963). While research has primarily focused on prejudice toward visible marginalized groups, there is relatively little difference between prejudice toward visible and invisible minorities, a finding which has recently been replicated in studies of fan groups (e.g., Leshner, Reysen, Plante, Chadborn, Roberts, & Gerbasi, 2018; Reysen, Plante, Roberts, & Gerbasi, 2017). Fan identity, like political orientation or religion, is an “invisible” trait, as it is rare for a person’s physical traits to convey their fan interest. As such, unlike visible traits, fan identity can be shown at will, such as a sport fan choosing to wear a cap with their team’s logo or a music fan wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with their favorite band’s members.
  • Connor Leshner, Courtney N. Plante, Stephen Reysen, Sharon E. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gerbasi"Behind Closed Doors: Hentai Fans’ Perceived Discrimination, Ingroup Identification, and Attitudes toward Subgroups in the Anime Fandom",(December 2018).

• Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who wereblack... But neither of us could do national advertising because the South wouldn't buy it. That was the social stigma we lived under.
  • Jesse Owens,The Tampa Tribune(1 April 1980).

• The press, television, and movies make heroes of vandals by calling them whiz kids.... There is obviously a cultural gap. The act of breaking into a computer system has to have the same social stigma as breaking into a neighbor's house. It should not matter that the neighbor's door is unlocked.
  • Ken Thompson,"Reflections on Trusting Trust",1983Turing AwardLecture,Communications of the ACM27(8), August 1984, pp. 761-763.

• Thirty years ago it seemed right that there be nostigmain education and that everyone should get the same start in life, but there are problems in mixing everyone together. I was never happy about the inclusion of children with severeautisticproblems in schools, for example, and I certainly don't think it is working today.
  • Mary Warnock"There's something about Mary",The Guardian,(11/6/05).

See also

• Stigma

See also

• Stigma