Ascribed Identity and Spoiled Identity: Two social phenomena which are rife in Mauitius. Read this article extract and you will understand the roots of our problems: 3.7.1 Spoiled identities: stigma In his classic book Stigma (1963) the sociologist Erving Goffman argues that stigma is a relationship of devaluation in which an individual is disqualified from full social acceptance. Society establishes ways of categorising persons and what are felt to be the ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ attributes for each category. Stigma, then, is essentially a pejorative label that sticks, one that is applied to an individuals ‘differentness’, their perceived non-conformity, deviance or simply difference in appearance or behaviour. That individual is then discredited. Stigma can result from physical impairment, from known biographical records (such as a prison sentence or hospital stay) or from context (keeping ‘bad company’). It can be ascribed (e.g. his father is a criminal, so he must be one) or achieved (e.g. becoming a delinquent). Goffman argues that society tends to regard the person with a stigma as ‘not quite human’ and this leads to a form of discrimination that reduces their life chances. Of course, the stigmatised individual is likely to be very aware that others do not accept him and are not prepared to deal with him on an equal basis. His or her own sensitivity to the standard set by society may also lead to some incorporation of that judgement into their view of self. As Goffman puts it, ‘shame becomes a central possibility, arising from the individuals perception of one of his own attributes as being a defiling thing to possess’ (Goffman, 1963, p. 18). This leads on to the point that self identity and ascribed identity are rarely separate from each other. They interact and affect each other. In other words, our views of ourselves are necessarily formed by other peoples views of us. 3.7 Ascribed identity So far we have been concerned with ways in which we define ourselves. How other people or society at large might define you could be different from the way you define yourself. This points to an important distinction between ‘self identity’ or ‘identification’, which you have just considered, and ‘ascribed identity’, which we turn to next. Ascribed identities can be thought of as the identities other people, or society, might impose on you. These include, for example, gender and age-defined identities ‘which are rooted in very early social experience’ (Jenkins, 1996, p. 142). There may be conflict between the two kinds of identity. Many social work service users, for example, find that their view of themselves (self identity) differs from societys view of them (ascribed identity) and that frequently the latter is negative and based on a stereotype. Stereotyping is a process through which we assign a set of attributes to a person based on their presumed membership of a particular group. It also involves simplifying information about complex situations. For example, many older people find that their identity is seen only in terms of one attribute, their age, and the traits that are assumed to accompany that age, while their individual characteristics and experiences are ignored. Stereotypes represent societys view in a rigid and simplistic way. It can be all too easy for individuals to absorb or internalise stereotypes so that they come to believe they are true.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 11:58:36 +0000