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99-403: Passing may refer to: Social identity [ edit ] Passing (sociology) , presenting oneself as a member of another sociological group Passing (gender) , presenting oneself as being cisgender Passing (racial identity) , presenting oneself as a member of another race Literature and film [ edit ] Passing (novel) ,

198-496: A "good day." In sports, some mobility impaired individuals have been observed strategically exaggerating the extent of their disability to pass as more disabled than they are and be placed in divisions in which they may be more competitive. In quadriplegic rugby, or wheelchair rugby , some players are described as having "incomplete" quadriplegia in which they may retain some sensation and function in their lower limbs that may allow them to stand and walk in limited capacities. Based on

297-514: A ball or puck between members of the same team Passing (American football) Passing (association football) , or soccer Passing (juggling) , when two or more people share a juggling pattern Transportation [ edit ] Passing, overtaking , the act of driving around a slower automobile Passing lane , a lane on a road for use while overtaking Passing loop , a section of railway where trains can pass each other Other uses [ edit ] Buck passing , or passing

396-416: A black man (assuming social milieus in which homosexuals and dark-skinned people are stigmatized). A 2012 study showed empirical support for the existence of the own, the wise, and normals as separate groups; but the wise appeared in two forms: active wise and passive wise. The active wise encouraged challenging stigmatization and educating stigmatizers, but the passive wise did not. Goffman emphasizes that

495-506: A central aspect of their identity and whether all autistic people are capable of truly hiding their autistic status. Both conditions, they argue, would have to be fulfilled for the analogy to hold and conclude that only a subgroup of autistic people experiences masking as passing. Individuals with visible physical impairments or disabilities, such as people with mobility impairment, including individuals who use wheelchairs or scooters, face greater challenges in concealing their disability. In

594-479: A condition which the target of the stigma either did not cause or over which he has little control." He defines Achieved Stigma as "stigma that is earned because of conduct and/or because they contributed heavily to attaining the stigma in question." Falk concludes that "we and all societies will always stigmatize some condition and some behavior because doing so provides for group solidarity by delineating 'outsiders' from 'insiders'". Stigmatization, at its essence,

693-612: A different racial group. In Passing and the Fictions of Identity , Elaine Ginsberg cites an ad for escaped slave Edmund Kenney as an example of racial passing; Edmund Kenney, a biracial person, was able to pass as white in the United States in the 1800s. In the entry "Passing" for the GLBTQ Encyclopedia Project, Tina Gianoulis states that "for light-skinned African Americans during the times of slavery and

792-579: A gender identity group that differs from the gender with which they were assigned at birth. In Passing and the Fictions of Identity , Elaine Ginsberg provides the story of Brandon Teena , who was assigned female at birth but lived as a man, as an example of gender passing in the United States. In 1993, Brandon moved to Falls City, Nebraska, where he initially passed as a man. However, community members discovered that Brandon had been assigned female at birth, and two men in it shot and murdered him. Ginsberg cites for another example of gender passing Billy Tipton ,

891-431: A general group regardless of how well the person actually fits into that group. However, the attributes that society selects differ according to time and place. What is considered out of place in one society could be the norm in another. When society categorizes individuals into certain groups the labeled person is subjected to status loss and discrimination . Society will start to form expectations about those groups once

990-509: A great deal of their lives passing as straight even when they do not do so intentionally." The phrase " in the closet " may be used to describe individual who hide or conceal their sexual orientation. In Passing: Identity and Interpretation in Sexuality, Race, and Religion , Maria Sanchez and Linda Schlossberg state that "the dominant social order often implores gay people to stay in the closet (to pass)." Individuals may choose to remain "in

1089-670: A higher education to keep this a secret, lest they are marked as failures and outsiders. Similarly, a middle-class boy may feel no compunction in being seen going to the library; a professional criminal, however, writes [about keeping his library visits secret]." He also gives the example of blacks being stigmatized among whites, and whites being stigmatized among blacks. Individuals actively cope with stigma in ways that vary across stigmatized groups, across individuals within stigmatized groups, and within individuals across time and situations. The stigmatized are ostracized, devalued , scorned, shunned and ignored. They experience discrimination in

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1188-485: A history of passing as well, particularly in the United States and often tell outsiders that they belong to other ethnicities such as Latino, Greek, Middle Eastern, or Native American. Class passing, similar to racial and gender passing, is the concealment or misrepresentation of one's social class . In Class-Passing: Social Mobility in Film and Popular Culture , Gwendolyn Audrey Foster suggests that racial and gender passing

1287-424: A jazz musician who was also assigned female at birth but lived and performed as a man until his death in 1989. Within the transgender community, passing refers to the perception or recognition of trans individuals as belonging to the gender identity to which they are transitioning rather than the sex or gender they were assigned at birth. Passing as a member of a different religion or as not religious at all

1386-410: A label that associates a person to a set of unwanted characteristics that form a stereotype. It is also affixed. Once people identify and label one's differences, others will assume that is just how things are and the person will remain stigmatized until the stigmatizing attribute is undetectable. A considerable amount of generalization is required to create groups, meaning that people will put someone in

1485-688: A large amount of attention and research in recent decades. Thirdly, linking negative attributes to groups facilitates separation into "us" and "them". Seeing the labeled group as fundamentally different causes stereotyping with little hesitation. "Us" and "them" implies that the labeled group is slightly less human in nature and at the extreme not human at all. The fourth component of stigmatization in this model includes "status loss and discrimination ". Many definitions of stigma do not include this aspect, however, these authors believe that this loss occurs inherently as individuals are "labeled, set apart, and linked to undesirable characteristics." The members of

1584-514: A majority group or of a privileged minority group. Nella Larsen 's 1929 novella, Passing , helped to establish the term after several years of prior use. The writer and subject of the novella is a mixed African-American/Caucasian who passes for white. The novella was written during the Harlem Renaissance , when passing was commonly found in both reality and fiction. Since the 1960s Civil Rights Movement , racial pride has decreased

1683-501: A non-racialized person or white to avoid the disinterest or fetishization often encountered upon revealing their Asian identities. By recognizing the hidden intersection of the gendered aspects of gay and Asian male stereotypes, these two distinct experiences make even more sense. Gay men are often stereotyped as effeminate and thereby insufficiently masculine as men. Stereotypes characterizing Asian men as too sexual (overly masculine) or too feminine (hypo-masculine) or even both also exhibit

1782-730: A normal consequence of people's cognitive abilities and limitations, and of the social information and experiences to which they are exposed. Current views of stigma, from the perspectives of both the stigmatizer and the stigmatized person, consider the process of stigma to be highly situationally specific, dynamic, complex and nonpathological. German-born sociologist and historian Gerhard Falk wrote: All societies will always stigmatize some conditions and some behaviors because doing so provides for group solidarity by delineating "outsiders" from "insiders" . Falk describes stigma based on two categories, existential stigma and achieved stigma . He defines existential stigma as "stigma deriving from

1881-443: A novel by Nella Larsen Passing (film) , directed by Rebecca Hall (2021), based on Larsen's novel Math and technology [ edit ] Message passing , a form of communication in computer science Token passing , a channel access method in telecommunications Variational message passing , a mathematical technique for continuous-valued Bayesian networks Sports [ edit ] Passing (sports) , to pass

1980-428: A persistent source of psychological issues. To resist, manage, and avoid stigma and its associated consequences, individuals might choose to pass as a non-stigmatized identity. According to Nathan Shippee, "Passing communicates a seemingly "normal" self, one that does not apparently possess the stigma." According to Patrick Kermit, "To be suspected of being "not quite human" is the essence of stigmatisation, and passing

2079-637: A person's social identity in threatening situations, such as low self-esteem . Because of this, identity theories have become highly researched. Identity threat theories can go hand-in-hand with labeling theory . Members of stigmatized groups start to become aware that they are not being treated the same way and know they are likely being discriminated against. Studies have shown that "by 10 years of age, most children are aware of cultural stereotypes of different groups in society, and children who are members of stigmatized groups are aware of cultural types at an even younger age." French sociologist Émile Durkheim

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2178-476: A phenomenon whereby an individual with an attribute which is deeply discredited by their society is rejected as a result of the attribute. Goffman saw stigma as a process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity. More specifically, he explained that what constituted this attribute would change over time. "It should be seen that a language of relationships, not attributes, is really needed. An attribute that stigmatizes one type of possessor can confirm

2277-432: A positive self-perception among their members. For example, advertising professionals have been shown to suffer from negative portrayal and low approval rates. However, the advertising industry collectively maintains narratives describing how advertisement is a positive and socially valuable endeavor, and advertising professionals draw on these narratives to respond to stigma. Another effort to mobilize communities exists in

2376-415: A preference for them over more functional and more conspicuous prosthetics to maintain their personal conceptions of social and bodily identity. One user of prosthetics characterized her device as one that could "maintain her humanness ('half way human'), which in turn prevented her, quite literally, from being seen to have an 'odd' body." Users also discussed wanting prosthetics that could help them maintain

2475-410: A professor of Communication, Performance and Cultural Studies at Loyola Marymount University, defines cultural performance as "a process of delineation using performative practices to mark membership and association." Using this definition, passing is reframed as a method to maintain cultural performance and choose both consciously and unconsciously to participate in other performances. Rather than through

2574-570: A red light district in India, have effectively challenged internalized stigma by establishing that they are respectable women, who admirably take care of their families, and who deserve rights like any other worker. This study argues that it is not only the force of the rational argument that makes the challenge to the stigma successful, but concrete evidence that sex workers can achieve valued aims, and are respected by others. Stigmatized groups often harbor cultural tools to respond to stigma and to create

2673-412: A regular part of everyday life that is necessary to survive in that society. Regardless, the stigma that passers are subject to is not inherent. As Goffman explains, stigma exists not within the person but between an attribute and an audience. As a result, stigma is socially constructed and differs based on the cultural beliefs, social structures, and situational dynamics of various contexts. Thus, passing

2772-509: A result of denial of one's previous identity and may lead to depression or self-loathing. When an individual deliberately attempts to "pass" as a member of an identity group, they may actively engage in performance of behaviors that they believe to be associated with membership of that group. Passing practices may also include information management of the passer in attempting to control or conceal any stigmatizing information that may reveal disparity from their presumed identity. Etymologically ,

2871-849: A rule from the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) that states that players need only a combination of upper- and lower-extremity impairment that precludes them from playing able-bodied sports, the incomplete quads may play alongside other quadriplegics who have no sensation or function in their lower limbs. That is justified by classifications the USQRA has developed in which certified physical therapists compare arm and muscle flexibility, trunk and torso movement, and ease of chair operation between players and rank them by injury level. However, inconsistencies between medical diagnoses of injury and those classifications allows players to perform higher levels of impairment for

2970-469: A scary Black man" and therefore had to adapt his behavior to gendered scripts to pass. Social stigma Stigma , originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved in modern society into a social concept that applies to different groups or individuals based on certain characteristics such as socioeconomic status, culture, gender, race, religion or health status. Social stigma can take different forms and depends on

3069-408: A special kind of gap between virtual social identity and actual social identity : While a stranger is present before us, evidence can arise of his possessing an attribute that makes him different from others in the category of persons available for him to be, and of a less desirable kind—in the extreme, a person who is quite thoroughly bad, or dangerous, or weak. He is thus reduced in our minds from

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3168-487: A stigma is evident to the audience can mark the difference between being discredited or merely discredit able". Other factors may include risk, context, and intimacy. Different contexts and situations may make passing more easy or difficult and/or more safe or risky. How well others know the passer may impede their abilities as well. One scholar explains, "Individuals may pass in some situations but not others, effectively creating different arenas of life (depending on whether

3267-468: A stigmatized identity formation process in order to experience themselves as causal agents in their social environment. Hughey calls this phenomenon "stigma allure". While often incorrectly attributed to Goffman, the "six dimensions of stigma" were not his invention. They were developed to augment Goffman's two levels – the discredited and the discreditable. Goffman considered individuals whose stigmatizing attributes are not immediately evident. In that case,

3366-486: A study on individuals' experience with prosthetics, the ability of users to be able to pass as if they were "like everybody else" with their prosthetic based on the realistic or unrealistic appearance of the prosthetic was one factor in predicting whether patients would accept or reject prosthetic use. Cosmetic prosthetics that were, for example, skin-colored or had the added appearance of veins, hair, and nails were often harder to adapt to and use, but many individuals expressed

3465-435: A topic of discourse as critics raise concerns over cultural appropriation and accuse nonstigmatized individuals, such as prominent celebrities Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande , of concealing creditable information about themselves for some social benefit. Notions of cultural appropriation, racial fetishization, and reverse passing entered public debate particularly in 2015, after a former college instructor and president of

3564-703: A walking gait, which would attract no stares and prosthetics that could be disguised or concealed under clothes in efforts to pass as able-bodied. Though passing may occur on the basis of a single subordinate identity such as race, often people's intersectional locations involve multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality provides a framework for seeing the interconnected nature of oppressive systems and how multiple identities interact within them. Gay Asian men possess two key subordinated identities; in combination, they create unique challenges for them when passing. Sometimes, those men must pass as straight to avoid stigma, but around other gay men, they may attempt to pass as

3663-401: A whole and usual person to a tainted discounted one. Such an attribute is a stigma, especially when its discrediting effect is very extensive [...] It constitutes a special discrepancy between virtual and actual social identity. (Goffman 1963:3). Goffman divides the individual's relation to a stigma into three categories: The wise normals are not merely those who are in some sense accepting of

3762-441: Is a challenge to one's humanity- for both the stigmatized person and the stigmatizer . The majority of stigma researchers have found the process of stigmatization has a long history and is cross-culturally ubiquitous. Bruce Link and Jo Phelan propose that stigma exists when four specific components converge: In this model stigmatization is also contingent on "access to social , economic , and political power that allows

3861-402: Is a desperate means to the end of appearing fully human in the sense of being like most other people." When making the decision of whether to pass or not, there are many factors stigmatized actors may consider. Firstly, there is the notion of visibility. How visible their stigma is may problematize how much ease or difficulty they may face in attempting to pass. However, how visible their stigma

3960-421: Is a product (an assessed state), a process (an active engagement), performative (ritualized repetition of communicative acts), and a reflection of one's positionality (politicized location), knowing that its existential accomplishment always resides in liminality." Historically and genealogically, the term passing has referred to mixed-race, or biracial Americans identifying as or being perceived as belonging to

4059-512: Is a prominent tool of non-verbal communication. The concept of passing is showcased in research by Jennifer Taub in her Bisexual Women and Beauty Norms. Some participants in the study stated that they attempted to dress as what they perceived as heterosexual when they partnered with a man, and others stated that they tried to dress more like a "lesbian." That exemplifies how visual identities can greatly alter people's immediate assumptions of sexuality. Therefore, presenting oneself as "heterosexual"

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4158-498: Is a social process. There are two primary factors to examine when considering the extent to which this process is a social one. The first issue is that significant oversimplification is needed to create groups . The broad groups of black and white , homosexual and heterosexual , the sane and the mentally ill ; and young and old are all examples of this. Secondly, the differences that are socially judged to be relevant differ vastly according to time and place. An example of this

4257-518: Is also immersed in different contexts of the socially-structured meaning and behavior of daily life and passing implies familiarity with that knowledge. Passing has been interpreted in sociology and cultural studies through different analytical lenses such as that of information management by Goffman and that of as cultural performance by Bryant Keith Alexander. Goffman defines passing as 'the management of undisclosed discrediting information about self." Similarly, other scholars add that "Passing

4356-531: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Passing (sociology) Passing may require acceptance into a community and may lead to temporary or permanent leave from another community to which an individual previously belonged. Thus, passing can result in separation from one's original self, family, friends, or previous living experiences. Successful passing may contribute to economic security, safety, and stigma avoidance, but it may take an emotional toll as

4455-483: Is effectively "passing." Passing by sexual orientation occurs when an individual's perceived sexual orientation or sexuality differs from the sexuality or sexual orientation with which they identify. In the entry "Passing" for the GLBTQ Encyclopedia Project, Tina Gianoulis notes "the presumption of heterosexuality in most modern cultures," which in some parts of the world, such as the United States, may be effectively compulsory , "most gay men and lesbians in fact spend

4554-560: Is involved in creating, maintaining, and diffusing stigmas, and enacting stigmatization. The model of stigma communication explains how and why particular content choices (marks, labels, peril, and responsibility) can create stigmas and encourage their diffusion. A recent experiment using health alerts tested the model of stigma communication, finding that content choices indeed predicted stigma beliefs, intentions to further diffuse these messages, and agreement with regulating infected persons' behaviors. More recently, scholars have highlighted

4653-452: Is may also determine the intensity and frequency of adversity they may face from others as a result of their stigma. Goffman explains, "Traditionally, the question of passing has raised the issue of the "visibility" of a particular stigma, that is, how well or how badly-the stigma is adapted to provide means of communicating that the individual possesses it." Other scholars further emphasize the cruciality of visibility and conclude that "whether

4752-831: Is mostly associated with strategies of information management that the discreditable use to pass for normal [in everyday life]". Whereas some individuals' stigma is immediately apparent, passers deal with different problems in that their stigma is not always so obvious. Goffman elaborates "The issue is not that of managing tension generated during social contacts, but rather that of managing information about his failing. To display or not to display; to tell or not to tell; to let on or not to let on; to lie or not to lie; and in each case, to whom, how, when, and where." In Goffman's understanding, individuals possess various symbols that convey social information about us. There are prestige symbols that convey creditable information and there are stigma symbols that convey discrediting information. By managing

4851-674: Is not uncommon among minority religious communities. In the entry "Passing" for the GLBTQ Encyclopedia Project, Tina Gianoulis states "at times of rabid anti-Semitism in Europe and the Americas, many Jewish families also either converted to Christianity or passed as Christian" for the sake of survival. Circumcised Jewish males in Germany during World War II attempted to restore their foreskins as part of passing as Gentile . The film Europa, Europa explores that theme. Shia Islam has

4950-444: Is often based on their visual identity. The term visual identity refers to the expression of personal, social, and cultural identities through dress and appearance. In Visible Lesbians and Invisible Bisexuals: Appearance and Visual Identities Among Bisexual Women it is proposed that through the expression of a visual identity, others "read" a person's appearance and make assumptions about their wider identity. Therefore, visual identity

5049-842: Is often stigmatized but that class passing is generally accepted as normative behavior . Class passing is common in the United States and is linked to the notions of the American Dream and of upward class mobility. English-language novels that feature class passing include The Talented Mr. Ripley , Anne of Green Gables , and Horatio Alger novels. Films featuring class-passing characters include Catch Me If You Can , My Fair Lady , Pinky , ATL , and Andy Hardy Meets Debutante . Class passing also figures into reality television programs such as Joe Millionaire in which contestants are often immersed in displays of great material wealth or may have to conceal their class status. The perception of an individual's sexual orientation

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5148-510: Is required, passing encompasses active interpretations of several aspects of social life. It requires an understanding of cultural conventions, namely: what is considered "normal" and what is required to maintain it; customs of everyday interaction; and the symbolic character of the stigma itself.... Passing, then, embodies a creative mobilization of situational and cultural awareness, structural considerations, self-appraisals, and sense-making". Alexander recognizes that and then asserts that "passing

5247-469: Is the emphasis that was put on the size of the forehead and faces of individuals in the late 19th century—which was believed to be a measure of a person's criminal nature. The second component of this model centers on the linking of labeled differences with stereotypes . Goffman's 1963 work made this aspect of stigma prominent and it has remained so ever since. This process of applying certain stereotypes to differentiated groups of individuals has attracted

5346-477: The Spokane, Washington , NAACP , Rachel Dolezal , was discovered to be white with no black racial heritage after she had presented herself as black for several years. As many point out, reverse passing crucially differs from passing in that individuals who reverse pass are not stigmatized and therefore are not subject to the harms of stigma that may force stigmatized individuals to pass. Bryant Keith Alexander,

5445-551: The body language and tone of others, or scripting conversations. Masking may be done to reduce the risk of ostracism or abuse. Autistic masking is often exhausting and linked to adverse mental health outcomes such as burnout , depression , and suicide . Autistic masking has been viewed as "passing as neurotypical". However, that perspective has been challenged in a 2023 review of autistic masking by Valentina Petrolini, Ekaine Rodríguez-Armendariz, and Agustín Vicente who question whether all autistic people see "being autistic" as

5544-484: The Borders: Bisexual Passing and Queer Theory , Jessica Lingel notes, "The ramifications of being denied a public sphere in which to practice a sexual identity that isn't labeled licentious or opportunistic leads some women to resort to manufacturing profiles of gayness or straightness to pledge membership within a community." Gender passing refers to individuals who are perceived as belonging to

5643-802: The Management of Spoiled Identity (1963), "refer[s] to an attribute that is deeply discrediting" or "an undesired differentness from what [was] anticipated".  According to Goffman, "This discrepancy, when known about or apparent, spoils his social identity; it has the effect of cutting him off from society and from himself so that he stands a discredited person facing an unaccepting world". Thus, inhabiting an identity associated with stigma may be particularly dangerous and harmful. According to Link and Phelan, Roschelle and Kaufman, and Marvasti, it may lead to loss of opportunities due to status loss and discrimination, alienation and marginalization, harassment and embarrassment, and social rejection. These can be

5742-479: The behaviors adopted by the stigmatized individual to manage his identity: the concealing and revealing of information. In the second atmosphere, he is discredited —his stigma has been revealed and thus it affects not only his behavior but the behavior of others. Jones et al. (1984) added the "six dimensions" and correlate them to Goffman's two types of stigma, discredited and discreditable. There are six dimensions that match these two types of stigma: In Unraveling

5841-510: The buck, transferring responsibility to another Passing away, euphemism for " dying " A syncope is an instance of passing out, also called fainting or losing consciousness Passing off , in law, presenting one product as another Passing, a type of metallic thread used in embroidery See also [ edit ] Closeted (concealing one's sexual orientation or behavior) Pass (disambiguation) Passer (disambiguation) The Passing (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

5940-403: The classifiers and pass for being more disabled than they are. As a result, their ranking may underestimate their capacity and they may attain a competitive advantage over teams with players whose capacity is not equivalent. That policy has raised questions from some about the ethics and fairness of comparing disabilities, as well as about how competition, inclusion, and ability should be defined in

6039-567: The closet" or to pass as heterosexual for a variety of reasons, including a desire to maintain positive relationships with family and policies or requirements associated with employment such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" , a policy that required passing as heterosexual within the military or armed forces. Bisexual erasure causes some bisexual individuals to feel the need to engage in passing within presumed predominantly-heterosexual circles and even within LGBTQ circles for fear of stigma. In Adjusting

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6138-401: The contexts of stigma , authors Campbell and Deacon describe Goffman's universal and historical forms of Stigma as the following. Stigma occurs when an individual is identified as deviant , linked with negative stereotypes that engender prejudiced attitudes, which are acted upon in discriminatory behavior. Goffman illuminated how stigmatized people manage their "Spoiled identity" (meaning

6237-403: The cultural stereotype is secured. Stigma may affect the behavior of those who are stigmatized. Those who are stereotyped often start to act in ways that their stigmatizers expect of them. It not only changes their behavior, but it also shapes their emotions and beliefs . Members of stigmatized social groups often face prejudice that causes depression (i.e. deprejudice). These stigmas put

6336-532: The doctrine of taqiyya in which one is lawfully allowed to disavow Islam and profess another faith but secretly remain a Muslim if one's life is at risk. The concept has also been practised by various minority faiths in the Middle East such as the Alawites and Druze . Disability passing may refer to the intentional concealment of impairment to avoid the stigma of disability, but it may also describe

6435-791: The exaggeration of an ailment or impairment to receive some benefit, which may take the form of attention or care. In Disability and Passing: Blurring the Lines of Identity , Jeffrey Brune and Daniel Wilson define passing by ability or disability as "the ways that others impose, intentionally or not, a specific disability or non-disability identity on a person." Similarly, in "Compulsory Able-Bodiedness and Queer/Disabled Existence," Robert McRuer argues that "the system of compulsory able-bodiedness...produces disability ." People with disabilities may exaggerate their disabilities when they are evaluated for medical care or accommodations often for fear of being denied support. "There are too many agencies out there with

6534-623: The expectations of the group. This can result in social stigma. From the perspective of the stigmatizer, stigmatization involves threat, aversion and sometimes the depersonalization of others into stereotypic caricatures. Stigmatizing others can serve several functions for an individual, including self-esteem enhancement, control enhancement, and anxiety buffering, through downward-comparison —comparing oneself to less fortunate others can increase one's own subjective sense of well-being and therefore boost one's self-esteem. 21st-century social psychologists consider stigmatizing and stereotyping to be

6633-531: The experience of being stigmatized may take a toll on self-esteem, academic achievement, and other outcomes, many people with stigmatized attributes have high self-esteem, perform at high levels, are happy and appear to be quite resilient to their negative experiences. There are also "positive stigma": it is possible to be too rich, or too smart. This is noted by Goffman (1963:141) in his discussion of leaders, who are subsequently given license to deviate from some behavioral norms because they have contributed far above

6732-476: The gaming community through organizations like: In 2008, an article by Hudson coined the term "organizational stigma" which was then further developed by another theory building article by Devers and colleagues. This literature brought the concept of stigma to the organizational level, considering how organizations might be considered as deeply flawed and cast away by audiences in the same way individuals would. Hudson differentiated core-stigma (a stigma related to

6831-506: The gendered nature of racial stereotypes. Thus, passing as the dominant racial or sexuality category also often means passing as gender correct. When Black transgender men transition in the workplace from identifying as female to passing as cisgender men, gendered racial stereotypes characterizing Black men as overly masculine and violent may affect how previously acceptable behaviors will be interpreted. One such Black trans man discovered that he had gone from "being an obnoxious Black woman to

6930-493: The identification of differences, construction of stereotypes , the separation of labeled persons into distinct groups, and the full execution of disapproval, rejection , exclusion, and discrimination ." Subsequently, in this model, the term stigma is applied when labeling, stereotyping, disconnection, status loss, and discrimination all exist within a power situation that facilitates stigma to occur. Identifying which human differences are salient, and therefore worthy of labeling,

7029-483: The ideology created by "the self," which is the opposing force to "the Other." As a result, the others become socially excluded and those in power reason the exclusion based on the original characteristics that led to the stigma. The authors also emphasize the role of power ( social , economic , and political power ) in stigmatization. While the use of power is clear in some situations, in others it can become masked as

7128-416: The individual can encounter two distinct social atmospheres. In the first, he is discreditable —his stigma has yet to be revealed but may be revealed either intentionally by him (in which case he will have some control over how) or by some factor, he cannot control. Of course, it also might be successfully concealed; Goffman called this passing . In this situation, the analysis of stigma is concerned only with

7227-407: The individual with a fault need feel no shame nor exert self-control, knowing that in spite of his failing he will be seen as an ordinary other," Goffman notes that the wise may in certain social situations also bear the stigma with respect to other normals: that is, they may also be stigmatized for being wise. An example is a parent of a homosexual; another is a white woman who is seen socializing with

7326-441: The inmates' thoughts about the guards . However, this situation cannot involve true stigmatization, according to this model, because the prisoners do not have the economic, political, or social power to act on these thoughts with any serious discriminatory consequences. Sociologist Matthew W. Hughey explains that prior research on stigma has emphasized individual and group attempts to reduce stigma by "passing as normal", by shunning

7425-564: The intense periods of racial resegregation that followed, passing for white was a survival tool that allowed them to gain education and employment that would have been denied them had they been recognized as "colored" people." The term passing has since been expanded to include other ethnicities and identity categories. Discriminated groups in North America and Europe may modify their accents, word choices, manner of dress, grooming habits, and even names in an attempt to appear to be members of

7524-467: The labeled groups are subsequently disadvantaged in the most common group of life chances including income , education , mental well-being , housing status, health , and medical treatment . Thus, stigmatization by the majorities, the powerful, or the "superior" leads to the Othering of the minorities, the powerless, and the "inferior". Whereby the stigmatized individuals become disadvantaged due to

7623-644: The management of symbols and the social information they convey, passers assume "the necessary and performative strategies that signal membership." Alexander reiterates, "Cultural membership is thus maintained primarily through recognizable performative practices." Hence, to successfully pass is to have your cultural performance assessed and validated by others. With that interpretation, avoiding stigma by passing necessitates intimate understanding and awareness of social constructions of meaning and expected behaviors that signal membership. Shippee explains that "far from merely appraising situations to determine when concealment

7722-415: The ostensible purpose of helping us that still believe that as long as we technically can do something, like crab-walking our way into a subway station, we should have to do it," writes Gabe Moses, a wheelchair user who has a limited ability to walk. Those pressures may result in disabled people exaggerating symptoms or tiring out their body before an evaluation so that they are seen on a "bad day," instead of

7821-651: The possession of a discreditable secret failing takes on a deeper meaning when the persons to whom the individual has not yet revealed himself are not strangers to him but friends. Discovery prejudices not only the current social situation, but established relationships as well; not only the current image others present have of him, but also the one they will have in the future; not only appearances, but also reputation." Relating to this experience of passing, actors may have an ambivalent attachment to their stigma that can cause them to fluctuate between acceptance and rejection of their stigmatized identity. Thus, there may be times when

7920-466: The power differences are less stark. An extreme example of a situation in which the power role was explicitly clear was the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis . On the other hand, an example of a situation in which individuals of a stigmatized group have "stigma-related processes" occurring would be the inmates of a prison . It is imaginable that each of the steps described above would occur regarding

8019-493: The realms of employment and housing. Perceived prejudice and discrimination is also associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes. Young people who experience stigma associated with mental health difficulties may face negative reactions from their peer group. Those who perceive themselves to be members of a stigmatized group, whether it is obvious to those around them or not, often experience psychological distress and many view themselves contemptuously. Although

8118-505: The role of social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram, in stigma communication. These platforms serve as safe spaces for stigmatized individuals to express themselves more freely. However, social media can also reinforce and amplify stigmatization, as the stigmatized attributes are amplified and virtually available to anyone indefinitely. Stigma, though powerful and enduring, is not inevitable, and can be challenged. There are two important aspects to challenging stigma: challenging

8217-411: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Passing . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Passing&oldid=1099546679 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

8316-703: The specific time and place in which it arises. Once a person is stigmatized, they are often associated with stereotypes that lead to discrimination, marginalization, and psychological problems. This process of stigmatization not only affects the social status and behavior of stigmatized persons, but also shapes their own self-perception, which can lead to psychological problems such as depression and low self-esteem. Stigmatized people are often aware that they are perceived and treated differently, which can start at an early age. Research shows that children are aware of cultural stereotypes at an early age, which affects their perception of their own identity and their interactions with

8415-425: The stigma disqualifies the stigmatized individual from full social acceptance) before audiences of normals. He focused on stigma, not as a fixed or inherent attribute of a person, but rather as the experience and meaning of difference. Gerhard Falk expounds upon Goffman's work by redefining deviant as "others who deviate from the expectations of a group" and by categorizing deviance into two types: Communication

8514-556: The stigma is known or not). Goffman claimed that actors develop theories about which situations are risky for disclosure, but risk is only one factor: intimacy with the audience can lead actors to disclose, or to feel guilty for not doing so." In addition to guilt, since passing can sometimes involve the fabrication of a false personal history to aid in concealment of their stigma, passing can complicate personal relationships and cause feelings of shame at having to be dishonest about their identity. According to Goffman, "It can be assumed that

8613-474: The stigma relationship is one between an individual and a social setting with a given set of expectations; thus, everyone at different times will play both roles of stigmatized and stigmatizer (or, as he puts it, "normal"). Goffman gives the example that "some jobs in America cause holders without the expected college education to conceal this fact; other jobs, however, can lead to the few of their holders who have

8712-413: The stigma; they are, rather, "those whose special situation has made them intimately privy to the secret life of the stigmatized individual and sympathetic with it, and who find themselves accorded a measure of acceptance, a measure of courtesy membership in the clan." That is, they are accepted by the stigmatized as "honorary members" of the stigmatized group. "Wise persons are the marginal men before whom

8811-460: The stigmatization on the part of stigmatizers and challenging the internalized stigma of the stigmatized. To challenge stigmatization, Campbell et al. 2005 summarise three main approaches. In relation to challenging the internalized stigma of the stigmatized, Paulo Freire 's theory of critical consciousness is particularly suitable. Cornish provides an example of how sex workers in Sonagachi ,

8910-425: The stigmatized individual will feel more inclined to pass and others when they feel less inclined. Despite the potentially-distressing and dangerous parts of passing, some passers have expressed a habituation with it. In one study, Shippee accounts that "participants often portrayed it as a normal or mundane event." For those whose stigma invites particularly hostile responses from most of society, passing may become

9009-402: The stigmatized, or through selective disclosure of stigmatized attributes. Yet, some actors may embrace particular markings of stigma (e.g.: social markings like dishonor or select physical dysfunctions and abnormalities) as signs of moral commitment and/or cultural and political authenticity. Hence, Hughey argues that some actors do not simply desire to "pass into normal" but may actively pursue

9108-493: The term is simply the nominalisation of the verb pass in its phrasal use with for or as , as in a counterfeit passing for the genuine article or an impostor passing as another person. It has been in popular use since at least the late 1920s. Passing, as a sociological concept, was first coined by Erving Goffman as a term for one response to possessing some kind of stigma that is often less visible. Stigma, according to Goffman's framework in his work Stigma: Notes on

9207-410: The usualness of another, and therefore is neither credible nor discreditable as a thing in itself." In Goffman's theory of social stigma, a stigma is an attribute, behavior, or reputation which is socially discrediting in a particular way: it causes an individual to be mentally classified by others in an undesirable, rejected stereotype rather than in an accepted, normal one. Goffman defined stigma as

9306-474: The very nature of the organization) and event-stigma (an isolated occurrence which fades away with time). A large literature has debated how organizational stigma relate to other constructs in the literature on social evaluations. A 2020 book by Roulet reviews this literature and disentangle the different concepts – in particular differentiating stigma, dirty work, scandals – and exploring their positive implications. The research

9405-544: The visibility and apparentness of their stigma symbols, passers prevent others from learning of their discredited and stigmatized status and remain discreditable. Passing may also include the adoption of certain prestige symbols and personal history or biography of social information that aids to conceal and draw attention away from their actual stigmatized status. Goffman also briefly notes, "The concealment of creditable facts-reverse passing-of course occurs." Reverse passing, related to terms like " blackfishing" , has emerged as

9504-416: The weight that is given to passing as an important issue for black Americans. Still, it is possible and common for biracial people to pass based on appearance or by hiding or omitting their backgrounds. In "Adjusting the Borders: Bisexual Passing and Queer Theory," Lingel discusses bell hooks ' notion of racial passing in conjunction with discussion of bisexual engagement in passing. Romani people have

9603-660: The world around them. Stigma (plural stigmas or stigmata ) is a Greek word that in its origins referred to a type of marking or the tattoo that was cut or burned into the skin of people with criminal records, slaves, or those seen as traitors in order to visibly identify them as supposedly blemished or morally polluted persons. These individuals were to be avoided particularly in public places. Social stigmas can occur in many different forms. The most common deal with culture , gender , race , religion, illness and disease . Individuals who are stigmatized usually feel different and devalued by others. Stigma may also be described as

9702-723: The world of sports. Individuals whose disabilities are "invisible," such as people with mental illness; intellectual or cognitive disabilities; or physical disabilities that are not immediately obvious to others such as IBS, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis may choose whether or not to reveal their identity or to pass as "normal." Passing as non-disabled may protect against discrimination but may also result in lack of support or accusations of faking. Autistic people may employ strategies known as "masking" or "camouflaging" to appear neurotypical . That can involve behavior like suppressing or redirecting repetitive movements ( stimming ), maintaining eye contact despite discomfort, mirroring

9801-530: Was the first to explore stigma as a social phenomenon in 1895. He wrote: Imagine a society of saints, a perfect cloister of exemplary individuals. Crimes or deviance, properly so-called, will there be unknown; but faults, which appear venial to the layman, will there create the same scandal that the ordinary offense does in ordinary consciousnesses. If then, this society has the power to judge and punish, it will define these acts as criminal (or deviant) and will treat them as such. Erving Goffman described stigma as

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