(4) Stigma and its persistent manifestations

Question 1

stigma is

Answer 1

an attribute that is deeply discrediting

Question 2

What 3 levels does stigma operate on?

Answer 2

o Micro (psychology)
o Meso (social psychology-cultural sociology)
o Macro (sociology - criminology)

Question 3

stigma is the co-occurrence of:

Answer 3

1) labelling human differences
2) stereotyping such differences
3) separating those labelled from ‘us’
4) status loss and discrimination against those labelled

Question 4

how are the parameters of power and discrimination incorporated into teh concept of stigma?

Answer 4

 Focusing on tribal stigmas (processes of exploitation & domination)
 Stigma as cause & effect: justifying exclusion – reifying stereotypes
- creation of inequalities

Question 5

2 major examples of stigma

Answer 5

(1) refugees
(2) human trafficking

Question 6

What do media representations of human trafficking do?

Answer 6

Contribute to a narrow and sensationalised understanding of the issue, overlooking its complexity

Question 7

What is problematic about the portrayal of victims of human trafficking as helpless and passive?

Answer 7

It reinforces stereotypes and can obscure the agency and resilience of survivors

Question 8

Why is media literacy and critical engagement with representations of issues like human trafficking so important?

Answer 8

can contribute to policy making and have real world impacts as to how issues are approached

Question 9

What does Musloff suggest in relation to refugees?

Answer 9

that the media has a responsibiltiy to utilise accurate and fair metaphors when discussing sensitive topics - dehumanising language leads to ostracisation and isolation

Question 10

3 issues with the portrayal of human trafficking in the media as modern slavery

Answer 10

(1) Sensational/emotional
(2) Victim stereotyping/victim blaming
(3) trivialising and relativing)

Question 11

(1) Sensational/emotional - human trafficking

Answer 11

discursive strategy - employing the moral capital of antislavery social movements [fight HT at any cost or else you are complicit

Question 12

(2) Victim stereotyping/victim blaming - human trafficking

Answer 12

what about the nuance of personal stories and the agency
of trafficked individuals

Question 13

(3) trivialising - relativing

Answer 13

the racially, politically loaded history of slavery
◆ Subtle reversal of history: colonial powers now fighting against slavery vs. colonized region deemed responsible for it [the myth of white innocence]
◆ human trafficking and slavery disconnected from structural dynamics of capitalism and framed as a ‘crime’ of nefarious foreigners
◆ Justification for intervention