Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity - Erving Goffman – summary part 2 (part 1 here)
The person with the stigma may use his stigma for
"secondary gains," as an excuse for failure. He may also see a
blessing disguised in the anguish he went through because of the feeling that
suffering can teach the sufferer the essence of life. Similarly, it can lead to
a reassessment of the limitations of the normal.
The reactions of the normal and of the stigmatized are those
that can occur for continuous periods of time, or in isolation from regular
contact. Goffman is interested in "mixed moments" - the moments in
which stigmatized and normal people are in the same "social
situation", meaning that there is an immediate physical presence of both.
The very predictable possibility of such contacts may cause
normal and stigmatized people to organize life in such a way as to avoid such
encounters, and this is likely to be more detrimental to stigmatized people.
When they meet, both parties will have to face the causes and
consequences of the stigma directly.
The person with stigma may feel insecure about how normal
people will recognize and accept him, and feel that the usual method of
interpreting everyday events has been undermined as his achievements may be
interpreted depending on the circumstances as signs of considerable and
noteworthy ability. At the same time he feels that tiny failures may be
interpreted as an expression of his stigma-marked variance. When the stigma of
the stigma is visual, he may feel that being present among the normal exposes
him to an invasion of his privacy. Goffman argues that an individual with the
visible stigma has special reasons for feeling that mixed social situations
tend to have frightening and unrestrained interactions.
As a result, the attention of both parties may secretly
withdraw from its social goals, and "self-awareness" and
"post-awareness" occur, manifested in a pathology of interaction
difficulties.
Belonging and knowing
As stated, according to Goffman the gap between the possible and actual alienation of the individual may cause his detachment from society and himself. However, he will usually find that there are others who support him:
1.The partners in his stigma - among them the stigma holder
can use his disadvantage as a basis for organizing life. On the other hand, he
may find that the stories of his fellow sufferers bore him. Whether or not the
stigma owners crystallize into the community, there may be agents who have
represented the stigma and will have the support of the stigma owners. Most
often these agents will serve as spokespersons and representatives before a
public of normals.
2.The knowers - normal people whose special situation made
them know the secret of the life of those who have the stigma and relate to
the,. Well-known people are the borderline people, in front of whom no maimed
individual should feel ashamed or exercise self-control. Types of person who
knows:
A. a person whose knowledge comes from working in an
institution, who takes care of the needs of those with a certain stigma (like
doctors).
B. a person associated with a stigma through the social
structure - a relationship that causes the wider society to relate in some ways
to both people (like spouses). For the most part, the tendency of the stigma to
spread from the individual with the stigma to those close to him, is the reason
why these connections are avoided.
Those who know (those with a stigma of respect) can understand
both the person with the stigma (referring to the stigma as a natural thing)
and regular people (in his willingness to carry a burden that is not his own he
imposes excessive morality).
See also: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman
Erving Goffman's Dramaturgy theory explained
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