Thursday, March 17, 2011
Someone raised this question on another blog the other day and I thought it was a good one.
We always talk about the stigma we experience ... but "stigma" is a technical term in social science. It defines the kind of difference that defines the edge of acceptability in a culture.
If we consider our illness to be "stigmatized," then we accept the idea that it's okay to describe us as outside the acceptable boundaries of society.
If we consider ourselves as "discriminated against" then we are claiming that we deserve to be treated like anyone else, because we are an acceptable part of society.
So .. Stigma or discrimination? What do you think?
It should be discrimination. We are part of society just like any other people suffering illness or physical handicaps. Society is not just made up of healthy well adjusted people. It includes all of us. But it is also true that healthy people often shy away from the mentally ill whereas they accept other illnesses as normal. So maybe they are stigmatizing us, but we experience it as discrimination.