What is Stigma? Explaining Goffman's Idea of Spoiled Identity

Summary

Bruce Lambert explains Erving Goffman’s concept of stigma, focusing on how it affects identity and everyday interaction.

What stigma means

Goffman uses stigma to describe an attribute that can make someone seem less acceptable or “less than normal” to a particular audience. The attribute may be physical, behavioral, or connected to a person’s background. Goffman describes stigma as a “spoiled identity.”

Stigma is relational, not inherent: it arises from the relationship between an attribute and an audience that treats it as a sign of difference. The same attribute may be stigmatizing in one setting but not another. For example, a characteristic shared by a local majority may attract little notice, while marking someone as an outsider elsewhere.

“Normal” and “stigmatized” are also defined in relation to each other. A group regarded as normal helps define who is treated as different, and these categories can change across places and over time.

Goffman’s categories of stigma

Goffman describes three broad categories:

• Bodily differences, such as scars, deformities, or amputations.
• Perceived character defects, including addiction, criminal history, dishonesty, unemployment, and homosexuality. Lambert emphasizes that this is Goffman’s terminology, not a claim that these people are inherently defective.
• “Tribal” stigma, associated with race, religion, or national origin.

Felt and enacted stigma

Stigma can be experienced or imposed:

• Felt stigma is the experience of feeling abnormal or devalued because of an attribute.
• Enacted stigma is overt discrimination, such as withholding opportunities or imposing penalties.

Discreditable and discredited identities

A person is discreditable when information that could damage their identity is concealed or unknown. A person is discredited when that information becomes known and undermines the identity they present.

Because disclosure can carry social costs, people may manage information about themselves to protect the identity they present to others.

Everyday identity management and illness

Everyday identity management is widespread. Even people who appear to have no obvious stigma may keep private facts from contradicting the image they present. Lambert connects this to Goffman’s description of stigma as an “undesired differentness” from what an audience expected.

Illnesses can carry stigma to varying degrees. Lambert describes a continuum: a common cold generally attracts little stigma, while conditions such as HIV, sexually transmitted infections, or serious mental illness may carry more. People with chronic illnesses—including hypertension, diabetes, or arthritis—may also conceal diagnoses, treatment, or medication use to maintain an identity of normality.

Speakers and sources

• Bruce Lambert — Presenter and narrator who explains the concepts.
• Erving Goffman — Sociologist whose ideas are discussed, especially those in Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Lambert also mentions Goffman’s Asylums.