Stigma and Social Media: Theories, Affordances, and Practices

Introduction and Course Administration

  • Haley has volunteered to be the class representative.
  • Without any challengers, she was unanimously appointed by the class.
  • Her contact details will be made available on Luku once organized.
  • The lecture topic centers on the intersection of stigma and social media, building upon Erving Goffman’s theories.

Erving Goffman’s Framework of Stigma

  • Goffman categorized stigma into three specific types that cover the breadth of the phenomenon:
    • Stigmas of the Body: Physical disabilities or ailments.
    • Stigmas of Character: Perceived flaws such as a criminal history, mental illness, or unemployment.
    • Tribal or Racial Stigmas: Inherited stigma based on membership in a specific group, race, or religion (Goffman himself was Jewish and likely related to this category).
  • Definition of Stigma: Stigma is not inherent to a condition; it is produced within social settings. Society defines what is "normal," and stigma arises when an individual fails to realize or support those established social norms in a specific context.
  • Socialization and the Self: Stigma involves the relationship of the self to the self. Through socialization, individuals learn to incorporate the standpoint of the "normal" even if they personally fail to live up to that standard.
  • Relational Nature: Stigma is a negative social relation occurring when an individual fails to perform or embody a given category, such as failing to be white or failing to be feminine in the prescribed manner.

Power Relations and the Critique of Goffman

  • Goffman is often criticized for his lack of political engagement regarding macro-level structural relations like capitalism or patriarchy.
  • The Anecdote of the 1960s Student: In a class at Berkeley during the late 1960s, a black student asked Goffman what his work was "useful for" in terms of political application. Goffman reportedly stormed off in a huff.
  • Macro vs. Micro: Goffman was less concerned with the power of microaggressions or structural oppression and more interested in abstract social situations. He famously noted that he would only get involved in student demonstrations "when they start shooting the students."
  • Frederick Jameson (via Tyler): Jameson suggests Goffman’s suspension of power questions was deliberate. His ambition was to evolve abstractions that apply to all social situations rather than historically determinant ones.
  • Reinterpretation: Many modern sociologists read power back into Goffman’s work by applying his concepts to oppression and discrimination.

The Identity Debate: Zuckerberg vs. Poole

  • Mark Zuckerberg and the "One Identity" Philosophy:
    • In a 20092009 interview (at age 2525), Zuckerberg insisted that individuals have only one identity.
    • He argued that having two identities is a "lack of integrity."
    • He maintains that online identity must be linked to offline identity and that transparency in the digital world no longer supports the segregation of personal and professional profiles.
  • Chris Poole (Founder of 4chan) and the "Diamond" Philosophy:
    • Poole views identity as fluid, comparing individuals to diamonds with many angles that can be projected in different spaces.
    • He argues the core problem of platforms like Facebook or Google is not the audience (who you share with) but the context (who you share as).
    • His platform, 4chan, was designed for people to connect over interests rather than profiles, though the lecturer notes this anonymity can lead to toxic environments.

Social Media Affordances and Context Collapse

  • Concept of Context Collapse: This occurs on social media when different social circles (family, work, friends) merge into a single audience, making it difficult to segment behavior.
  • Affordances in Practice: Anthropologist Costa, based on ethnographic research in Turkey, argues against technological determinism. Users do not simply do what the platform dictates; they find workarounds.
  • The "Wedding Profile": A public, curated, and respectable Facebook profile that includes parents, cousins, and neighbors.
  • Examples of Affordances in Practice:
    • A 2020-year-old single woman living with family had a secret account to gaze atothers’ lives (gossiping) without being gazed upon herself.
    • A young man with three accounts: one "wedding profile," one fake-named account for memes and school friends with strict privacy settings, and a third for his girlfriend and intimate male friends.
    • A man with 1212 Facebook profiles used for various purposes: work, relatives, hometown, school friends, foreign girls, online gaming, business, children, and politics.
  • Imagined Affordances: These emerge between a user’s perceptions/expectations and the designer’s intentions. For example, users might imagine the Facebook news feed as objective reporting rather than an algorithmically encoded parsing of data.

Digital Back Spaces and Support Communities

  • Goffman’s concept of "back spaces" refers to places where stigmatized individuals gather safely (e.g., gay bars). These now exist online.
  • Case Studies in Hidden Communities:
    • Pro-ana (Pro-anorexic) Blogs: These communities rely on anonymity to avoid scrutiny and parental intervention. Users often shut down blogs and start new ones if they feel too exposed.
    • Bereaved Parents (Facebook): Admins use filtering questions to guard against imposters, even asking for personal stories to maintain group integrity.
    • Military PTSD Groups (WhatsApp): Extremely closed; requires in-person contact or therapist referral to join.
    • Infertility Discussion Boards: More discoverable but require active policing to kick out members who are mean or unsupportive.

TikTok as a Safe Space for Rainbow Youth

  • Research conducted during US lockdowns found TikTok to be a vital supportive space for LGBTQ+ youth.
  • It was often the first place young people disclosed their sexual or gender identity.
  • Algorithmic Protection: The way the algorithm serves content based on interests allowed youth a level of privacy from parents, who were unlikely to encounter or understand the content.
  • Community Support: Older members of the rainbow community provide historical knowledge and advice to younger users.

Disability: Passing and Disclosure Online

  • Disability is a "spoiled identity," and concealing it adds a layer of conflict regarding "authenticity."
  • Textual Dominance as Relief: For an autistic woman, text-based communication (using brackets or emojis for subtext) is easier because it removes the need to interpret facial cues or body language.
  • Visual Storytelling: A hard-of-hearing woman uses Instagram stories to show her life (running, eating out) as a replacement for "corridor chitchat" or phone calls.
  • Compartmentalization: A young man with a stutter uses different profiles to keep his hobby-based interactions separate from his stuttering support group.
  • The Wheelchair User’s Perspective: He noted that in person, he is forced to disclose medical history immediately (e.g., "Why are you in a wheelchair?"). Online, he can develop intimacy before disclosing his disability.
  • Identity Rebooting: Some disabled users engage in "purging" profiles of non-disabled people or "rebooting" by starting fresh accounts to avoid "disability spectacle" or surveillance by able-bodied acquaintances.

Challenging Stigma via Hashtags

  • Social media allows stigmatized groups to gather in ways not possible in physical life.
  • #ShoutYourAbortion: A movement in the US after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It aimed to normalize the experience but faced significant pushback and condemnation from opponents using the same hashtag.
  • #MeToo: A movement regarding sexual violence that provided community but also suffered from victim-blaming and harassment.
  • Conclusion: While social media provides platforms to challenge stigma through visibility (e.g., a woman posting photos of herself after losing an arm to foster self-acceptance), the "pushback" and trolling remain constant risks.

Questions & Discussion

  • Audience Member: Commented on the generational divide, noting that parents are on Facebook while youth move to Instagram and TikTok.
  • Lecturer Response: Confirmed that platform choice is a way to navigate privacy. Parents are less likely to find children on TikTok due to its algorithmic nature. She noted that platforms are constantly changing—mentioning her personal annoyance when Google Chat changed—but that eventually, users tend to converge after periods of divergence.
  • Survey Data on Rainbow Youth: The lecturer cited a small study of rainbow youth on Facebook where 25%25\% (out of approximately 3636 participants) reported being cyberbullied, suggesting Facebook may be less safe than initially perceived.
  • Closing Remarks: Tutorials will be held Monday (Zoom) and Tuesday afternoon (in person). Students not yet signed up should attend their preferred session and ask the tutor to be added.