M6: Living with Chronic Illness and Disease Flashcards
What is Symbolic Interactionism?
a sociological theory that focuses on how individuals create meaning through social interactions and the use of symbols, such as language and gestures.
emphasis on individuals
most on the agency side
What are the Underlying Assumptions Symbolic Interactionism?
- Humans act on the basis of meaning (rather than instinct).
- Meanings arise out of interaction (are dynamic & relational rather than fixed and unchangeable). (slang/manners)
- Individuals interpret meaning. (body language, facial)
- We develop a sense of self through interaction with others. (home/family environment)
Symbolic Interactionism: Key concept #1
What is Social construction?
- Based on the idea that people actively ‘construct’ reality
– meaning that it neither natural or inevitable. - Therefore, notions of normal/abnormal, right/wrong and even health/illness are subjective human creations and should not be considered universal or unchanging/unchangeable.
- Attribute and interpret meanings/behaviour
- Emphasis on agency
Enter elevator and look at door, sit down in class
Symbolic Interactionism: Key concept #1
What is ‘Deviance’?
- Behaviour or activities that violate social expectations about what is ‘normal’
- Who defines those expectations?
- What causes or motivates someone to deviate from social expectations?
- How is deviance understood through the lens of gender, age, SES, ethnicity, sexual identity, or other social inequalities?
boy vs man wearing a dress (feminine clothes)
magnitude of deviance exists
‘Chronic Diseases’ vs. ‘Illness’
Disease:
biophysical condition with a specific diagnosis.
Chronic diseases:
health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years.
Illness:
The subjective response to the disease – includes how people perceive, experience, make sense of and respond to disease.
What is the Social construction of illness?
Health and illness not just medical categories
Rather, they are:
- Social phenomena
- Socially situated
What are the 2 factors of the Social construction of illness?
1. Meanings attributed to illness
- Changing definitions over time and across cultures
- e.g., civil disobedience; drug and alcohol use; homosexuality; promiscuity
2. Experiences of illness
- Shaped by contextual and individual factors
- e.g., the influence of gender and class
* It is NOT to deny that viruses and disease objectively exist!
What is proof of Social construction of illness?
Different conditions are constantly being added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)
It is through our social interactions that we start to understand and label some things as diseases instead of simply ‘variation’ in the human population
aneorexia and bullimnia
Symbolic Interactionism: Key concept #2
What is Stigma?
Stigma: person has “an attribute that is deeply discrediting”
Leads to negative social reactions
e.g., disability, criminal record
What are the 3 Types of Stigma?
- “Abominations of the Body”
- “Blemishes of Character”
- “Tribal Stigma of Race, Nation or Religion”
Types of Stigma
What are the “Abominations of the Body” Stigma?
Physical characteristics that are deemed to be deformities, unnatural and/or undesirable.
Historically this has included: physical disabilities, obesity, visible illness or disease, tattoos or other counter-culture body modifications
Types of Stigma
What are the “Blemishes of Character” Stigma?
AKA Character Trait Stigma
- Stigma associated with perceptions that an individual is weak willed, dishonest, has ‘unnatural desires’ or other undesirable character traits. (lazy or rigid)
- Historically this has included: addictions, homosexuality, radical or unpopular political beliefs.
- People who behave in ways that aren’t understood as ‘normal’ or ‘socially acceptable
Types of Stigma
What is the “Tribal Stigma of Race, Nation or Religion” Stigma?
- Group identity stigma
- Traits with negative associations or stereotypes that are passed through generations.
- Historically this has included: stereotypes or representations that label certain ethnic groups as lazy, dirty, dumb, greedy.
Hitlers family memebers did not reproduce
What are the Implications of Stigma?
- Contributes to various forms of discrimination
Often done ‘unthinkingly’ without acknowledgement or reflection on how these meanings are created
Reduces individual’s life chances!
- ‘Life chances’: opportunities each individual has to improve
their quality of life (Weberian term)
Case Example 1 – HIV/AIDS
- 1981 U.S. Centre for Disease Control publishes article
- Early labels for the disease reflected fear/lack of knowledge
- Stigma/discrimination -> Fired, evicted, shunned/rejected,
denied treatment
a) Abominations of the body -> wasting syndrome, lesions etc.
often made disease visible
b) Blemishes of individual character -> assumed to be result of
lifestyle choices
c) Tribal stigma -> initially only associated with gay men
Case Example #2: Contested Chronic Illnesses
