Feb 21, 2025
In his book on stigma, Erving Goffman explains that: ‘The stigmatized individual is asked to act so as to imply neither that his burden is heavy nor that bearing it has made him different from us; at the same time he must keep himself at that remove from us which assures our painlessly being able to confirm this belief about him.’ This means the stigmatized individual must feign acceptance of the situation, pretending everything is fine, providing a base for a phantom normalcy. The etymology of the word ‘stigma’ implies a mark on the outside of the body, the skin. Stigma, for Goffman, is spoiled identity.
– Susanna Crossman, Home Is Where We Start (2024)
