Us vs. them: stigma nowadays

Abstract

The current discussion on the stigma of illegitimacy ends up equating all forms of stigmatization; however, despite the stigmatized individuals present great heterogeneity among themselves, they share certain characteristics. By placing stigma as a divergence from the social expectation, the perspective of “difference” is explored, which allegedly separates stigmatized individuals from others (equalizing all forms of stigmatization), and the perspective of “similarity”, which allows minorities to unit, in the common search to organize their voices in order to overcome exclusion and achieve a shared objective: belonging. It is argued that stigma, in addition to being a concrete means of materializing domination through segregation, is also a powerful collective identity mechanism, as it a decisive role in the process of elaborating the highlighted characteristics. The study also reflects on the need to combat stigmatization, discussing possible coping strategies.