chapter 10 part 2 Flashcards
(5 cards)
6 central concepts of labelling theory
- Career Deviance: the sequence of stages through which the actor passes. ex. being labelled as “sick”, receiving secondary gains such as sympathy/support and not being able to remove yourself from that support, becoming dependent on it.
- Master Status: status that overrides all others. ex. status of an axe-murderer would override any other statuses a person has.
- Moral Entrepreneurs: actively participate in forming and enforcing rules, and often profit by doing so. People who promote the idea that clubs are highly dangerous and who then make a living kidnapping and deprogramming cult recruits are an example.
- Moral Crusades: social movements aimed at producing changes in the rules or how they are enforced, may be lead by moral entrepreneurs.
- Moral Panic: overreaction to some form of deviance. it may be triggered when, for ex, a drug users or child molesters are portrayed in the media as being in greater number and more powerful than the evidence suggests.
- Labelling Contests: may ensue when the attempt to assign a negative label to a person or group meets with resistance. A stigma contest of long standing has been fought by abortion activists on both sides of the issue; each side attempts to apply deviance labels to the other. Such contests are risky; those who try to apply a deviant label may have the tables turned on them.
central concepts of dramaturgy
FRONT STAGE: a collective representation that establishes the setting, the stage on which we play our roles. our apprearances here sustain our social identity.
BACKSTAGE: where we consider ourselves free from social demands. when we are alone in an environment.
STIGMA: discredititing stereotype that implies moral pollution or danger and that creates a spoiled identity. the oppposite of prestige in that it signals the presence of something shameful. revelation of the stigmatizing characteristic can reduce the person’s status instantly from “ whole and usual” to “tainted”.
STIGMATA/STIGMATIC STAGES: are symbols that mark a deviant.
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT: part of the presentation of self in social situations. most of us present ourselves differently when at work or at religious services or with friends. we are aware that others will, on the basis of the way we present ourselves, draw conclusions about what we really are.
SYMPTOMATIC ACTION: actions that destract from the content of the performance. ex. a teacher that mumbles and shakes in front of the class may be a brilliant scholar, while the person who inspires the trust of others may be a con artist or imposter. the mumbling/shaking detracts from the performance.
TOTAL INSTITUTIONS: include prisons, psychiatric hospitals, mopnasteries, boarding schools, and military camps are places where people live 24hrs a day under an authority. practices in these situations tend to be directed toward transforming the social self of the inmate or recruiting in such a way that it comes to fit the needs of the institution.
MORAL CAREER: refers to the sequence of identity transformations that involve entry into, and possible exit from, a state of spoiled identity.
dramaturgy…managing strained interactions
- focus attention on a distracting object or topic.
- forcing the body to be “normal”. someone may do liposuction, stapled stomachs to become thin and not obese.
seeking stigma
- some groups or individuals may seek out and cultivate a stigmatized identity.
- outsider’s dilemma: seeking acceptance from society by doing a certain behaviour.
Shaming
shaming has been a part of punishment, along with pain. The pillory, the stocks, ducking stools, branding, bridles and gags were used to bring scorn as well as harm to the offender. less common now a days.
