Definition of Stigma.
Stigma is a fairly elusive concept; scholars from various disciplines have defined and used the term in varied ways and for different purposes. Although there are some clear indicators of the social origins of stigmatisation and the factors that perpetuate it, a generally accepted unitary theory of stigma remains unavailable to date. Stigma, according to Goffman, refers to an attribute that is profoundly degrading, reducing the individual that possesses a particular trait from a whole to an aspersed and discredited one (Goffman, 1963), and consequently the person is socially disregarded.
Stigma is a fairly elusive concept; scholars from various disciplines have defined and used the term in varied ways and for different purposes. Although there are some clear indicators of the social origins of stigmatisation and the factors that perpetuate it, a generally accepted unitary theory of stigma remains unavailable to date. Stigma, according to Goffman, refers to an attribute that is profoundly degrading, reducing the individual that possesses a particular trait from a whole to an aspersed and discredited one (Goffman, 1963), and consequently the person is socially disregarded.
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| source: www.pbs.org |
The gist of this approach
is the understanding that stigma arises during a social
interaction. By defining stigma as a spoiled identity, which means that a
person is somehow not normal or accepted by society because of a physical
disability, sign of immoral or nonconforming behaviour, or membership to a
particular group, Goffman cast stigma as a social construction in which society
determines which statuses deserve to be stigmatized (Smith, 2009).
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