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- Title
The Stigma of Excellence: On Being Just Right.
- Authors
Posner, Judith
- Abstract
This article focuses on the book "Stigma," by Erving Goffman emphasizes the relative nature of stigma in the society. The term stigma denotes a special kind of relationship between attribute and stereotype. His book tends to focus on absolute and/or major stigmas rather than dealing with more subtle forms of spoiled identity, and more particularly the truly contextual nature of the stigmatizing process to which he alludes. Being superior to others is as problematic and pathological as being inferior. Both sorts of persons are marginal to the social system. Goffman's framework suggests that the reason notions of stigma or deviance even come into play at all is because the goal of most social interaction is presumed to be its smooth running. There are numerous psychological and sociological studies on drinking which concur with the view that excessive drinking and alcoholism in particular pose a serious social problem.
- Subjects
SOCIAL psychology; STIGMA (Book); GOFFMAN, Erving, 1922-1982; SOCIAL stigma; SOCIAL systems; SOCIAL interaction
- Publication
Sociological Inquiry, 1976, Vol 46, Issue 2, p141
- ISSN
0038-0245
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1475-682X.1976.tb00759.x