What is Stigma? Part 2: Social Identity

[@Raminakai]

Stigma affects every area of our lives and how things go, their entire life, for people. It can open or close doors. It can hinder opportunity. It relates to every area..medical, social status,.marriage opportunity , school experience, religion... everything and everyone. We also don't talk about it openly and that is why I am so glad you are. Thanks!

[@musicman1685]

I feel like want to cry. You are nailing this.. I’m 59 and suffered these things you’re talking about.. and never got a handle on it.. so I dealt with it.. I even played the passive role and made myself the comedic punching bag at work. I feel it’s too late for me now.. but all those wasted years.. OMG… inside I felt I was just as good as them but believed them.

[@JudeScott007]

I had a narcissist mother...witch ( f slip).. which you can learn about. Dr Rominy is a top expert with many videos...she's my current therapist. I watch them regularly! Immensely helpful!

[@relaxwithme__]

You have a gift of explaining really broad and complex topics in a clear way. Thank you for sharing all these ideas! I’m so glad I came across your channel. I had to subscribe right away. I’m looking forward to your future uploads! 😊

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

I’ve been concentrating on TikTok lately, so check me out over there. Same channel name: how communication works.

[@MsLotusBlooms]

Finally feel someone gets my life.

[@vishalimanivannan7109]

this guy is splendid and keeps me hooked throughout the video. An underrated channel .

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Thank you, Vishali. Very kind of you. Please share the channel with your friends and classmates.

[@issicocklin1647]

These two video's have helped me so much with my university work! So much easier to understand than the original book! Thanks :)

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

You are so welcome!

[@flyingeaglewoman8682]

Boom, nailed the experience.. thank you for putting into words, for explaining what people do to others and is painful. Victims of crimes are stigmatized as well, guilt by association even when innocent of knowledge of crime. Those whom perpetuate this cannot be approached about their behavior because of their denial. And when it’s family- a wedge is put between a close relationship, effectively killing the relationship. I know from personal experience..

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Sounds like you’ve been through some painful stuff. I’m sorry. I’m glad my video was useful to you. Hang in there.

[@flyingeaglewoman8682]

How Communication Works very useful indeed. Helped clarify.. needed this.

[@flyingeaglewoman8682]

Was handy to post to FB however. An indirect communication..

[@martinlara1603]

This video is excellent. Thank you for providing detailed information on Goffman's theory of Stigma. Keep up the great content.

[@jonathanvermillion7263]

These videos are groundbreaking for me please continue

[@TickledFunnyBone]

I have been studying sheff and goffman of the 60's for a few years now and its fascinating research!

[@lennarto5716]

Mr Lambert... I came across your channel yesterday, what a pleasant discovery. I am amazed by Goffman‘s theories and just now I am starting to get more in depth and practical insides, which make me want to know more about it. Thanks a lot ;)

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Welcome aboard!

[@Bubblesandcandyfloss]

Thank you for helping me understand Goffman better. I am still trying to fully comprehend Moral Career but this has been such a help

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Sure. Just think of moral career as the path or trajectory through time of a person’s self/identity. The word career implies a long trajectory through time. The word moral captures the idea that social interaction has a fundamental moral component, where people are judged as good or evil, clean or unclean, trustworthy or not, etc.

[@Bubblesandcandyfloss]

@@HowCommunicationWorks wow. You cleared that up for me in one go! Very grateful!!!!

[@TheMinyHappy]

At 6:40 you talked about "one real self" and "one ideal self", It was to my understanding that Goffman believed that no true self exists, and we simply change the roles of our identity based on the social interaction? There is of course also a reason to believe that the speaker- and audience-meaning is un-harmonized here.

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

You’re right about Goffman. He did not believe we have any one core identity but rather a collection of role identities. But I didn’t claim we had one true identity. I was talking about our ability to sense of discrepancy between our ideal conception of ourselves and our realistic assessment of our actual identities. Even if we don’t have one true self, it’s possible to sense when our performances in the world fall short of our ideal performances. That’s what I was trying to get at

[@shazk9170]

Thank you so so much for this video. I'm stuck at the theoretical framework of my PhD thesis

[@jonathanvermillion7263]

Keep it coming!

[@haroldmaio407]

What is stigma? It is the pretense of one or more aspects of a society that there is something wrong with one or more other aspects of a society. We often speak of "stigma", seldom of stigmatizers, those who generate that prejudice. Goffman led us down that path.

[@musicman1685]

GREAT Teacher!! Great video…!!!

[@ohnoshedidnt-snapsfinger-5546]

Wow this video describes my experience w autism a lot,, especially the internalization :(

[@hiddens2346]

Hi Bruce! Video request- Anything about self esteem/concept or self hatred perhaps, and improving it? I know the topic is rather broad, but I hope you upload some videos in this realm also. Thanks a lot! Loved this video. Regards, Faiz

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Excellent idea. I’ll put it on my list and try to think about what I have to say on that topic. Thank you, Syed.

[@donharris8846]

I love the in-depth discussion about stigma, but these ideas fall apart when attempting to group “minorities” as stigmatized groups. To say that people of color feel awkward when around “normals”, and we feel insecure when we are not accepted by the “normals” is probably more of a White person’s (Goffman) perception of a Black person’s feelings than reality. Being stereotyped is a better description and is definitely true, but Black people stereotype White people just as much as Whites do Black people. If you have grown up in communities with a high density of POC you would know that there is no desire to be “normal” (which is healthy and White according to Goffman). I attribute this to an elevated self perception of Goffman and what he believes “others” perceive of him

[@maryhart141]

Learned a lot. Thanks!

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Glad to hear it!

[@julialednicky7542]

Very interesting.

[@ertadafik5397]

hello im from indonesia and thanks for explaining this theory, i really need this theory for finish my last work.

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Glad it was helpful.

[@snehasarkar654]

Thank you so much 🙏😊

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

You're welcome 😊

[@butungo1]

Thank you Bruce! Your video uploads on stigma are very helpful as I am trying to link stigma and the reasons why people do so. 1. Is it because of abnormality alone? 2. Is it because people have hidden intentions they have such as competition for material claims? and the use of stigma is to make it easy for stigmatised people to lose the competition?

[@sm_artx]

Can somebody explain the difference between two particular moral careers, one where the child grows up in a bubble and that bubble bursts, and one where the child grows up isolated and then has to face the outer world? To me, they both seem very similar, hence i would appreciate some help.

[@radhaghale4140]

Thank you so much!!

[@Sillilesshells]

What if a person is stigmatized for a few different reasons. They share attributes with several different groups but in each group they could be stigmatized for another attribute. Did Goffman have a strategy for these people or did he just think it would lead to increased social isolation?

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

I can’t recall him dealing with this directly. I think his analysis suggests that the effect would be additive or even multiplicative, with each new attribute adding more burden to the stigmatized person. The modern concept of “intersectionality,” which is not a concept Goffman used, talks about how having multiple marginalized identities (e.g., being black and gay and female) increases stigma and discrimination and decreases life possibilities. I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation.

[@Sillilesshells]

Ah interesting thank you. I mean, I think it can be a privilege to not fit in because it has taught me points of view that might not come easily if I had. Incidentally, I do fall into that type of person, but I was mainly asking though because Goffman is the main theorist I’m studying for an upcoming exam. I found this to be a really helpful video. Thank you:).

[@Sillilesshells]

So the theory surrounding “intersectionality”, who created that theory and were they trying to develop Goffman’s theories?

[@brigeem5022]

@@Sillilesshells Intersectionality as a theoretical framework came into existence in the late ‘80s by Kimberlé Crenshaw. (Goffman died in early ‘60s i believe) It originates from critical race framework, which came about in the early ‘80s. Hope this helps, I realize it’s been a few months 😅

[@HowCommunicationWorks]

Goffman died in 1982.