Stigma and Discrimination (Part 1)

why is the study of stigma so important?

• we are social beings

• understand our own bias

• to not make harmful assumptions based on one’s appearance

• social inclusion/exclusion = effects on health

• part of environmental factors that increase risk of premature death (29%)

stigma and definitions

1. negative attitudes

2. stereotype

3. prejudice

4. discrimination

negative attitudes

• sociocultural conditioning that starts very young (5 yrs)

  • the beautiful body

  • emphasis on productivity and success

  • socioeconomic factors (disability = poverty, burden on the economy)

  • attribution “sick role”

  • disability = status degradation

stereotype

an unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

• can be positive or negative

• example

  • doctor: prestige, all knowing

  • women can’t drive

  • men in theatre are homosexual

  • all canadians are nice and polite

prejudice

to judge before

• to formulate a rash and definitive judgement about a person or a group of people without sufficiently knowing them

• preconceived idea on a person or a group of people

• always based on a stereotype

• ingrained in us by social environment

• undoing them requires conscious acknowledgement and self-reflection

racism

type of prejudice

• believing that race, skin colour, or culture makes people inferior or superior

class prejudice

type of prejudice

• believing that certain economic classes are superior or inferior

prejudice =

beliefs

discrimination

to exercise prejudice in a direct or indirect manner, towards a person or a group of people

• an action or a decision that treats a person or group negatively

  • race

  • age

  • disability

• isolate and treat differently based on

  • origin

  • religious beliefs

  • age

  • gender

  • disability

  • real or supposed opinions

stereotypes =

generalizations

victims of discrimination

1. based on race, colour, national or ethnic origin and/or religion

2. women, people with disabilities and older adults

discrimination =

an act

direct discrimination

type of discrimination

• direct action towards a person

• example

  • a manager screens-out people with disabilities in the hiring process based solely on their disability status

indirect discrimination

type of discrimination

• can happen through another person, another organization or policies/rules that may not have been created intending to exclude people with a disability but they do

• example

  • an employer’s policy of not hiring people who have “gaps” in their résumés because they have been out of the workforce for a period of time off work for reasons related to a disability

in the literature on stigma theory

there is a consensus that fundamental components of stigma are

2. generalizations = stereotypes

3. beliefs = prejudice

4. acts = discrimination

examples of stigma (stereotype)

example

• people with a disability are less competent than those without a disability

examples of stigma (prejudice)

example

• individual believes the stereotype and judges that all people with disabilities are incompetent

examples of stigma (discrimination)

example

• individual never hires a person with a disability

stigma as a social construct (susman/goffman)

it is not functional limitations of impairment that constitute the biggest challenge met by people with a disability, but rather the societal and social responses to them

• two groups of people created

  • THEM (people w characteristic)

  • US (people w/o characteristic)

stigma and deviance

deviation from relevant or valued norms

• not an inherent property

• a person isn’t deviant until his/her acts or attributes are perceived as different

what is stigma?

is the possession of (or the belief that one possesses) some attribute, or characteristic that conveys a social identity that is devalued in a particular social context

example of stigma and context

example

• context with a guy with a lab coat

  • hospital: less likely to experience stigma

  • bar: more likely to experience stigma

power imbalance

• Judged on your sex, gender, wealth

• People at the centre of the circle are more privileged in society and less discriminated

• People farther from the centre are less privileged and therefore more discriminated and stigmatized

• power in the sense that those without characteristic are more autonomous and make decisions for “them”

intersectionality

racialized people have higher rates of disability

• often combined with lower-socioeconomic or immigrant status

• face barriers accessing health services

• people with disabilities are 2 to 4 times more likely to be victims of abuse

dimensions of stigma

multidimensional process

1. concealable

2. course of the mark

3. disruptiveness

4. aesthetics

5. origin

6. peril

concealable

dimension

• how apparent the characteristic is to others

  • having been incarcerated

  • mental illness

  • fibromyalgia

course of the mark

dimension

• whether the characteristic becomes more apparent with time

  • Parkinsons Disease

disruptiveness

dimension

• does the characteristic interfere with social interactions

  • hearing impairment

aesthetics

dimension

• degree to which the characteristic is unpleasant (unappealing) to others

  • people with an amputated limb

origin

dimension

• perceived level of the individual’s responsibility in acquiring the characteristic

  • example

    • teen mom

    • lung cancer

    • obesity

peril

dimension

• danger that others perceive towards the characteristic in social contexts

  • AIDS

  • Schizophrenia

  • COVID-19

4 big types of stigma

1. social/public stigma

2. self-stigma

3. label avoidance

4. structural stigma

public stigma

type of stigma

• when the general public endorses stereotypes about disease and disability and then discriminates against them

• strongly influenced by medias

  • ex. people living with HIV are contagious

self stigma

type of stigma

• public stereotypes directed inwardly towards one’s self

  • ex. a person with intellectual disability

    • conscious that “most people” think that people with ID are stupid

    • agree with this stereotype “they’re right”

    • apply it to themselves “I am stupid”

label avoidance

type of stigma

• the process whereby individuals decline or refuse to engage with specific types of services in order to avoid being labeled or stereotyped

  • ex. students with learning disabilities might refrain from requesting academic accommodations because they do not want to be stereotyped

structrual stigma

type of stigma

• includes both intentional and unintentional private and public institutional rules, regulations and norms

  • ex. “interventions”: contentions and isolation for people with psychiatric or developmental disorders

the impact of public and structural stigma

impact

• affect many life-domains

• lead to discrimination of many people with a disability in the health system, criminal justice system, housing, employment and education

• people with disabilities are susceptible of experiencing lesser physical and mental health resulting from the discriminatory chronic stress and lack of adequate social support

the impact of self-stigma

impact

• may influence pursuit of life opportunities through its negative impacts on the individual’s self-concept

  • reduction in hope and self-esteem

  • disengagement from treatment (health)

  • reduction of quality of life

  • disengagement from educational career or social life

  • potentially suicide

impact of label avoidance

impact

• closely tied to public stigma and self-stigma

• avoidance of service use (including social services, medical treatment, and academic and work accommodations) because of a fear of public consequences of being labeled by others and or personal fear of acquiring a stigmatized label

impact of stigma (health)

impact

• stigma may thwart (hamper)

  • acknowledgement and identification of health conditions

• may be an obstacle (barrier)

  • help-seeking, service provision and treatment adherence

  • each individual is different in their experience and response to stigma and discrimination

disability ≠ stigma

not always the case a person with a disability is stigmatized

• many studies show that people with a disability are not necessarily devalued or excluded from full participation in their community