Stigma:
1) the recognition of difference based on some distinguishing characteristic or mark;
2) a consequent devaluation of the person
Quiggles:
a made-up term (by the famous sociologist, Erving Goffman) to identify all of the variations and difference of the human body which occur either from birth, daily wear and tear, accident, or illness which can be, and will be, stigmatized.
Previously in this space we have explored various aspects of what academics have learned regarding stigma; the incredible number of ways humans come up with to stigmatize others; and several personal experiences with stigma. What we haven't explored is the question of hope for the future and what might actually defeat stigma in healthcare in our time.
There is a concept which I believe if adults could absorb within themselves and then instill into children, could banish stigma from the dynamics of human interaction forever. It is not only a simple concept, but an irrefutable one also... it is the truth that anyone's life can change permanently in the blink of an eye; and with that change the stigmatizer becomes the stigmatized, the starer the staree; the name-caller the named - all in the blink of an eye with just one bullet or bomb, one car wreck, one dive into shallow water, one spot on an X-ray.
I experienced this concept early in life -- in fact I was barely five. I began my schooling in a leg brace and thus couldn't play many of the games demanded of five year olds. One absolutely gorgeous child, Sharon, decided she didn't need to play kick-socker, dodge ball, or for that matter softball either and she spent many a beautiful day's recess sitting in the shade coloring with me. We became inseparable. She was also ingenious and eventually found a way to convince the other kids that a softball game was a lot more fun if I batted and then she ran the bases in my place.
After Easter of that kindergarten year, I couldn't wait to return to school and show her my braceless leg ... but she had vanished ... into an iron lung. She returned from her battle with polio in the middle of our second grade year, Canadian crutches and her own leg braces in tow. Like inseparable friends do, we adjusted - now she swung the bat and I ran the bases, until some brilliant school administrator decided that two kids with quiggles should be separated, and another helper and a different classroom were found for Sharon.
Admittedly this was a very difficult way to learn the "blink of an eye" concept and a life lesson I wouldn't wish on anyone. Perhaps it's a concept that cannot be taught to young people who think that they are invincible, maybe it can only be fully understood (if a person does not experience it firsthand) at the end of a lifespan, not at the beginning. If so, then the upcoming era of the aging baby boomer (which is almost upon us) just might be the thing that will precipitate defeating stigma in healthcare into a movement.
