FACULTATEA DE SOCIOLOGIE I ASISTEN SOCIAL

STIGMA. NOTES ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SPOILED IDENTITY Erving Goffman, Pretince Hall, 1963, Englewood Cliffs
"Stigma is a process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity."

Luiza Pintilie Sociologie, anul 1 seria 3 grupa 1

UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI

2008

In the large number and the diversity of problems from nowadays, the discrimination is painted like a reality that reached and is reaching limit situations, even violent, at the level of the society and the person. Either is about differences of sex, age, race, fortune or access to information or truth, all the shapes that difference develops, transformed in to a reason of exclusion, affects the human condition. Erving Goffman was a distinguished sociologist at his time. He studied at the University of Chicago and he elaborated the dramaturgically approach to human interaction Decades after his death, the figure of Goffman continues to fascinate. The emotional part of the prejudice can be considered an useful instrument for the social actor that wants to justify their action in different contexts or for presenting themselves into a good light in comparison with others.(Goffman, 1963) The promoter of the social drama, Erving Goffman , describes a phenomena that can be easily associated with the prejudice- the Stigma. In his conception, the stigma represent a disqualification of the human person and a total social rejection of him. The Stigma can offer a rationalization of tensions towards some groups defined trough physical, moral, religious or racial different characteristics(Goffman, 1963). Erving Goffman also refers to the auto stigma, that generates embarrassment, angry towards self and even the agreement with the group that generated the stigma. We can draw a parallel between the goffmanian vision and the negative prejudices, when we are referring to their influence on social life of humans that are the main targets of prejudices. They will constantly tend to oppose to the stigma and to destroy the prejudice- from an aesthetical surgery to the refusal of accepting the social norm or developing special attitudes against stigma. Also, the social actors can use the stigma like a motivation for personal failure or like a reason of isolation and anxiety. The ones that are subject of prejudices can act strange towards strangers, can inhibit the public manifestation of different emotions like fear, anger, or can feel exposed to the others curiosity or embarrassed if someone gives them to much importance, congratulates them for a simple task of if they are forgiven for small errors. The prejudices have different shapes like sexism, racism or xenophobia. The sexism assumes prejudices about persons that belong to different genus. We hear very often that men are better driver than women.

The American sociologist Michael W. Eisenck was writing in one of his studies that in general, women are seen as being dependent and emotive, characteristics that can qualify them for jobs and careers that are different from the one that are destinated to men. In other words, men are preferred to women for leading jobs or for the jobs that are considered masculine (Julia O'Connel Davidson, 2001). Eventough, over the century, the idea that a general prejudice that put women in a bad light, at least on the labor market exists was maintained by many sociologist but also by normal people, on other dimensionssociability, communication, empathy or stress resistance- women are superior estimated. Like Michael W. Eisenck draws attention, the stigma can slip out the voluntary control and can be emphasized by implicit attitudes. For surprising the emotional reactions (the prejudices) that the person have towards different social groups sociologists have developed tests for implicit association. So, a part of the sociologists have insisted on the social and cultural factors that interfere in the formation of the prejudices. The prejudices are becoming the straight expression of the relations between different social categories and the way of the social stratification. The prejudices can also be considered an useful instrument to the social actors for justifying their action in different contexts or for presenting themselves into a propitious light in comparison with others, or in other words an instrument of managing impression.(Goffman, 1963) For understanding the involvement of the stigma and the discrimination and his fundamental features , I will present the meanings that different sociologists attribute to this concept. Milton Friedman (1995) appreciates that people have real problems in defining and interpretation of the discrimination. A individually that discriminates pays the prices of his attitudes. It is very hard to see that the discrimination can have any other meaning, that is a question of taste of some, that other dont share. For Malcom Payne (1997) the stigma and the discrimination means to identify individuals and groups with different characteristics and treat them less better than the people or groups with conventional evaluated characteristics. Another sociologist that studied the discrimination is Septimiu Chelcea (1981) He belives that the legal aspect or the practice dont look so necessary in defining the discrimination that can be described better as favorable or unfavorable different treatment of individual that have the same qualities but belong to certain social, ethnic or religious group. This definitions develops an aspect that also Michael Banton (1998) reveals us : the word becomes more useful when an adjective is being attached to it, adjective that will specify the criterion of the

discrimination for example sex, race or religion. At the question What is the discrimination? the author proposes the following definition: different treatment based on sex, religion, ethnical origin, etc that functions as a different definition rather than an expression the essence of the discrimination. The sphere in which discrimination can appear are varied and they are referring to the conditioning of the participation to an economical activity of a person or the free practicing of a profession, the access to the public administrative, juridical or health department, other departments, the access to education, the wright to free circulation, the wright to private dignity. (O.U. 137/2000) Very often the ones that discriminate arent aware of this, assuming that certain types of humans are more proper than other in different positions (jobs). Eventough it is hard to approve that a person has been treated unfavorable based on sex, age, race etc the statistics prove that everyone has the tendency to discriminate. While I was reading different writings for making this essay I read a research that concentrates on the analysis of the manifestation of the discrimination in the process of employment. Helen Neuman (1994) appreciates that the employment is a discriminative activity. People are or arent employed because thy are to young, to old, to experimented, women or men, white or black, to fat or to tall, smoker, to bad dressed, to communicative or to shy and the list can continue. The affirmation comes from a manager of a company that recruits staff and it emphasize an important aspect: sometimes, it is easier to preach equality and in fact to discriminate. The society can be very advanced in what concerns the legal rights but are we also so advanced in terms of social thinking? Paraphrasing Richard Wright, how far are we? This research can also give an answer to the problems that Romania has nowadays. The legislation against discrimination plays an important part in the protection of the rights, but it is not enough. The discrimination still manifests under the different types and shapes. For accomplishing the objectives of the research it was used as methodology the analysis of the content. The social universe wasnt researched systematical and the analysis was one of exploration and mainly quantitative, because this is favorable for comparing the types of discrimination. The sociologists that made this research chose the special miscellaneous column of labor offer that were relevant for the study. They discovered many examples of discrimination in this advertisement. A: Sexual discrimination (Labor offers exclusive for men or for women we hire waiters(girls), we hire two boys salesman for supermarket (Cotidianul Romania Libera, 14 march 2003)

The law number 202 from 19 April 2002, regarding the chance equality between man and women forbids the discrimination by using words that disadvantages persons that belong to a certain sex at the announcement of contests or exams for selecting the candidates for vacancy positions. (art 8 ) B: Age discrimination We hire medical assistants age maximum 36 (Cotidianul Romania Libera , 16 march 2003) C: Discriminations motivated by certain physical appearance we hire a natural blond young lady, blue-eyed thin and educated (send picture attached to the CV) (Cotidianul Romania Libera, 14 march 2003) Eventough the analysis of the content didnt revealed other types of discrimination like ethnical or religious , the increased cases that were revealed are enough for talking about the amplitude of cases of discrimination in the third millennium Romania . The elimination of the stigmas or at least the attenuation of it is one of the necessary condition for building an equitable society, and this means the involving of the authorities and the changing of the way of thinking of every individually. The research also proves that the existence of the anti-discrimination laws dont assure the solving of the problem. The society can not be changed by decree (Michael Crozier, 1979) . Neither the reduction or the elimination of the discriminatory activities will be reached only by punishing them, but by a concentrated legislative, attitudinal and behavior effort. But stigmas and discrimination arent things that we read about only in sociological researches or in the newspaper.It is a real problem that we confront with everyday, in the bus, in the subway, at school, at the hospital and even in other countries. Maybe sometimes we dont even realize what is happening around us. We discriminate and we feel discriminated. Years after years our country was a discriminated society. People who went abroad to work were referred to as thieves or gypsies. They werent aloud to work legally or to receive citizenship. Until 2006 when Romania entered to Shengen Space, Romanian people couldnt to go to other countries without visa. Eventough we had great values that succeeded there, the stereotype remained. We were to insignificant for this big European family. Only a few strangers now were is ROMANIA on the map of the world and others have ever heard only about Ceausescu .We were left outside from all the important decisions that were concerning our continent and the foreign papers were full of headlines that insulted and discriminated our nation. I once felt discriminated only because I was coming from Romania, while I was attending the Model European Parliament in 2006 in Slovenia. The stigmas decreased at the level of teenagers and children ant their words maybe insulted me more than

I have ever thought. I was representing my country and I had to work in the same team with children from Italy, Spain and Cyprus for finding solutions at the major problems of Europe. They all had the worse impression about our country. They didnt know any other Romanian, but they heard from their parents enough bad things to not to want to have anything in common with us. They avoided us, they refused to listen to our opinions, and they didnt aloud us to vote with the explanation that we arent yet members of the European Union. It was heard for me to accept this but I tried, during the ten days of sessions to improve the image of our country. When I left I received congratulations on behalf of the presidents of the commissions for my speeches and my ideas. But this was only a small thing that made me go home with a smile on my face. The thing that I really wanted was to change the thinking of those young people with whom I have worked. I wanted that they would go home and say maybe only one good word about our country. I agree with the goffmanian idea about the society that tends to eliminate or isolate persons that belong to this categories. A good example for our country are the gypsies. They are considered one of the most important problem that we confront with and they are blamed for everything wrong that happens. No one will hire a gipsy because they arent considered serious or proper for most of the jobs. But this attitude toward them comes from common sense, not from direct experience with people from this ethnic. Maybe the society should try not to be so restrictive and to give everyone an equal chance. Eventough millions are spend every year for anti-discrimination programs and commercials, this problem has become a way of living. We dont even recognize it when we see it. Or maybe we dont want to. We learned to be insensible to everything around us and we live by the motto :What I dont know, cant hurt me.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banton, M., 1998, Discriminarea, Bucuresti, Editura Style; Chelcea, S., 1998, Tehnici de analiz a coninutului comunicrii, n Cercetarea sociologic. Metode si tehnici, S. Chelcea, I. Mrginean si I. Cauc, Deva, Editura Destin; Cole, G.A., 1988, Personnal Management, Theorry and Practice, London, D.P. Publication Ltd;. Crozier, M., 1979, On ne change pas la societ par dcret, Paris, Grasset; Goffman, Erving, 1963, Stigma.Notes on the management of spoiled identity,Englewood Cliffs, Pretince Hall Neuman, H., 1994, Arta de a gsi o slujb bun, Bucuresti, Bussines Tech. International Press SRL; Tucicov, A. B., Chelcea, S., Golu, M., Mamali, C., Pnzaru, P., 1981, Dicionar de psihologie social, Bucuresti, Ed. stiinific si Pedagogic; Romnia liber, colecia cotidianului n perioada 10-16 martie 2003; Colecia Monitorul Oficial, 2000 2003 ; http://www.stop-discrimination.info/7001.0.html , 04 January 2009, 22:49