I.
Main Points, Organization, Goals, Conclusion
The main goal of Goffman was to provide the reader with a thorough explanation
of the differences between social and personal identity in relation to stigmatized individuals and how those relationships
are managed.
A. Social Identity
1. Preliminary
Conceptions
· Defines stigma
· 3 types- body, character,
tribal
· social action and attitudes
towards the stigmatized
· normal vs. stigmatized
-each has the same system of beliefs
· stigmatized response
-correction, secondary gains
· issue of mixed contacts
-same social situation
2. The Own and the Wise
· virtual vs. actual identity
· Own= those who share a
stigma
· Group terms
· The professionally stigmatized
· Wise= normal but share
a similar situation, related through social structure
3. Moral Career
· the cause and effect of
commitment to a similar sequence of personal adjustment
· similar experiences
-inborn stigma
-protective capsule
-late in life stigma
-socialized in an alien community
· feeling of ambivalence
towards self
· community and organization
relationship
· revelation or isolating
experience
B. Information Control
and Personal Identity
1. Discredited and Discreditable
· discrepancy between actual
and virtual identity
2. Social Information
· Information about an individual
· Symbols draw attention
to a debasing indentity
· Prestige vs. stigma symbols
· Disidentifiers
· Purpose to convey social
information
· “with”
3. Visibility
· How well/ badly the stigma
is adapted to show an individual possesses it
· Perceptibility/ evidentness
· Obtrusiveness
· Conception/ perceived
focus
· Ex: ugliness vs. diabetic condition
· Known-about-ness
4. Personal
Identity
· Criminological, not psychological
sense
· To know one “personally”
· Breaking through the handicap
· Tolerance and sustainability/
acceptance
· Management of social roles
· Uniqueness/ positive vs.
negative
· Core of being
· Goffing- personal identity
is positive marks or identity pegs and unique combination of life history items
· Disengagement such as
name change
· Documentation- more accurate
than a symbol
5. Biography
· People are an entity which
can build a record
· Only one
· Degree of “informational
connectedness”
· Social vs. personal misrepresentation
· Social personality
· Information control
· Deviation from the norm
6. Biographical
Others
· Personal identity divides
up the individual’s world of others
· Knowing vs. unknowing
· How much is known/ unknown
· Cognitive recognition-
perceptual act of placing an individual
· Acquaintances vs. knowing
personally
· Social recognition- communication
ceremony
· Famous and infamous
· Formal social control
· Private vs. public recognition
7. Passing
· Invisible stigma
· Everyone knowing vs. no
one knowing
· What’s in between
this ?
· Concealing of information
· Types of blackmail
-frame up
-pre blackmail
-self saving blackmail
-full (classic) blackmail
· Who knows
of the stigma
· biographical
discontinuity
· natural
cycle of passing:
-unwitting
-unintended
-passing for fun
-passing during non routine events
-passing during routine daily events
-disappearance (complete passing)
· learning
to pass
· three possible
places: (partitioning by social identity)
-forbidden
-civil
-back
· management
of social and personal identity
· problems
and consequences of passing:
-dependency to disclose information
-further elaboration of lies
-may cause other displays of stigma
-learning what normals really think
· the effect
of identity control in relationships
· living
on a leash
8. Techniques
of information control
· Contingencies faced in
information management
· Conceal/ obliterate stigma
symbols
· Present stigma as another
attribute
· Keep confidants informed
· Cooperativeness among
similarly stigmatized
· Physical distance
· Voluntary disclosure-
information management leads to social management
-stigma symbol
-notes/ fleeting offerings
· Moral career
9. Covering
· Visibility vs. obtrusiveness
· Reduces tension
· Concern of standards associated
with stigma
· Restrict display of stigma
· Reconstitute conduct
C. Group Alignment
and Ego Identity
· Attempt to distinguish
between social and personal identity
· Ego- subjective sense
of his own situation, continuity, and character as a result of social experiences.
· Ego is a subjective, reflexive
matter that must be felt by the individual
· Social identity- stigmatization
· Personal identity- information
control
· Ego identity- feelings
of stigma and management
1. Ambivalence
· Acquired identity standards
cause ambivalence
· Social alliances/ friends
· Relationship with normals
2. Professional
presentations
· Stigmatized defines himself
as normal, but at the same time set apart ( self contradiction )
· Codes of revealing and
concealing
· Warnings against normification
· Authenticity- to be real
and worthy
· Causes stigmatized to
be situation conscious
· Desensitization
3. In-Group
Alignments
· Groups also influence
stigmatized point of view
· Group of fellow sufferers
· Removed from reality and
normals
4. Out-Group
Alignments
· Includes the normals and
wider society
· Psychiatric voice
· Normals also have troubles
· Stigmatized should reduce
tension w/ normals
· Acceptance may be conditional
· Good adjustment- implying
the burden is not heavy nor has it made him different
· Phantom acceptance/ phantom
normalcy
5. The Politics
of Identity
· In group- presents political
phrasings
· Out group- psychiatric
· Acceptance of self
· Contradictory
· Authenticity
D. The Self and Its
Other
· Response of stigmatized
to a situation
· Relates stigma to rest
of the social world
1. Deviations
and Norms
· Place in social structure
· Social norms
· Maintaining norms is psychological
integrity
· What is normal? Young, white, protestant, married, etc. male
· Cooperation of stigmatized
and normals
2. The Normal Deviant
· Stigma management is a
general feature of society
· Normal and stigmatized
are from same place and same mental makeup
· Change from normal to
stigmatized and vice versa
· Complementary roles
3. Stigma and
reality
· Stigmatized and normal
are part of each other
· Two role social process
where every individual participates in both roles
· Perspectives vs. persons
E. Deviations
and Deviance
· Deviator- not adhering
to norms
· In group deviant
· Social deviants
· Fighting social acceptance
II.
Author’s Background
Goffing was born in Canada
in 1922 and was educated in the United States at the University
of Chicago where he earned his PhD in sociology.
He then professed at Berkeley and Univ.
of Pennsylvania. He received numerous
awards and wrote many books.
III.
Nature of Information
Goffing uses many examples in his writing from sources such as biographies
and autobiographies of stigmatized persons. He also uses ideas from other sociologists
and doctors. Most of the examples are from the 1950’s and 1960’s,
taken right before this book was written.
IV.
Quality of Reasoning, Further comments, Beliefs
I really enjoyed the organizational layout of Goffing’s book. It followed a simple pattern and was labeled easily.
I also enjoyed the examples that are included since they help me to further understand Goffing’s reasoning. Although some of the examples seemed outdated, many seemed to still play a crucial
role in the stigmatized today. I thought that Goffing left out an important part
of stigmatization and that is a type of hierarchy I see it following. Not all
stigmas have as much importance placed on them and I would have liked to see that mentioned.
I also thought Goffing could have talked more about how normal is defined. If
you think about it, we could all be stigmatized in some way. For example, I have
blond hair. Some people may view my hair color as a sign of the Arayan race or
that I am dumb. But most people wouldn’t think twice about my hair color.
I think this book is something everyone would benefit from reading. I have a grandfather who had a nervous breakdown and an uncle who died of AIDS in
the 1980’s. They aren’t really things that are to be openly discussed
with my family although they are constantly in our minds. Reading this book gave
me a better understanding about the role that society and personal identity plays with these unfortunate occurrences.
V.
Relationship to Class
The biggest theme in this book that I think relates to this class is
that of patriarchy. Goffing’s style really seems to revolve around the
theme that the male is the center. He often uses examples of how it would be
an embarrassment for the wife of a mental patient if the neighbors were to find out, or other such similar things. His example of what normal is describes a white male.
I also think that Foucault would tend to look at deviants vs. stigmatized
as a whole rather than two separate entities. He really focuses on the big picture.
Goffing also mentions the difference of the private and public sphere
which is a classic theme in body issues.
