Stereotypes and Stigmas of Diseases and Illnesses
This semester, we are discussing health in Los Angeles. Although we have not had too many classes yet,
we have been introduced to the topic of disease and illnesses along with an idea as to how they spread.
With the activity that Dr. Kim led us through, many of us commented on how we felt throughout each
stage of the activity. We also discussed the messages that were being shared through the images. Some
of the images seemed positive and some seemed negative. This activity had me thinking about
stereotypes and stigmas surrounding many illnesses and diseases.
What are some stigmas and/or stereotypes you have had or society has towards certain illnesses and
diseases?
we have been introduced to the topic of disease and illnesses along with an idea as to how they spread.
With the activity that Dr. Kim led us through, many of us commented on how we felt throughout each
stage of the activity. We also discussed the messages that were being shared through the images. Some
of the images seemed positive and some seemed negative. This activity had me thinking about
stereotypes and stigmas surrounding many illnesses and diseases.
What are some stigmas and/or stereotypes you have had or society has towards certain illnesses and
diseases?
I feel like nearly all diseases and illnesses have different stereotypes and stigmas surrounding them, many of which Sontag has noted in the first few chapters of Illness as Metaphor. I think one of the most interesting things that she wrote about is how we as a society often treat those with non-contagious diseases such as cancer differently once we learn about their diagnosis and subconsciously treat them as if we would also fall ill by being in their presence. I also think a certain stereotype about people with illnesses and diseases is that they have lost all hope often, and we begin to treat them patronizingly and think that their illness defines them instead of just being another natural part of their life.
ReplyDeleteThis isn’t entirely related to the question but I thought it was interesting how Sontag noted that the word cancer’s roots as an evil or destructive force and our use of the word in contexts outside of the illness often leads to worse stigma around it, which is something I’ve noticed to be particularly prevalent in the world around me as students are constantly calling each other “cancerous” or saying a particular activity is “cancerous,” which also definitely can lead to even more negative stigma around it. Is there anything else you guys have noticed in your personal lives that might contribute to the social stigma we have around diseases like cancer?
I think many spatial, economic, and social factors contribute to the stigma many illnesses and diseases carry. For instance, Sontag noted that cancer tends to affect higher class communities while TB affects lower-income communities. This difference has led to a whole host of ideological differences to how different societies react to various diseases. In the United States, we often pity those who have cancer and relate their distress to suffering and unbearable pain. As Americans, we tend to inadvertently disassociate ourselves from those affected in a means to cope with the physiological trauma and grief. However, as Sontag observed, I think it's crucial to note the different societal responses between long-lasting diseases like cancer and a "mechanical failure[s]" like heart or brain failure (Usually with plaque build-up leading to loss of oxygen). While one as seen as weak, the other as seen as a normal part of life.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not had enough time to really think about the root cause of this phenomenon, I do believe it has something to do with the language used to depict each disease. Cancer is generally described using language that often exagerates its long-lasting nature; therefore, we often have time to develop a fear towards this deadly and grotesque faceit of life.
On the other hand, with "mechanical failure[s]," there is no time to react. It's not a slow death. It happens quickly and leaves little room for people to explore the similarities between each disease.
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ReplyDeleteI think AIDS is definitely one of the diseases with the most stigmas and stereotypes around it. From the outset, people weren't inclined to help the epidemic because it was afflicting the gay community, and people literally went as far as to say that the community deserved it because of the "sin of homosexuality". Government/general society only began to act on a large scale when people like Ryan White, a straight white boy from Indiana, contracted HIV. Even to this day, people still feel stigmatized against admitting they have AIDS or are HIV positive.
ReplyDeleteI have only read one chapter of Sontag so far, but I look forward to learning more about her perspective on the stigmatization of cancer. Some of the examples I thought were interesting about the etymology of the word "cancer", like Lux mentioned, and the pattern of not keeping patients fully informed about the illness/only sending records to the patient to be able to keep it a secret from family members. I wonder if cancer being seen as a more mysterious/unpredictable disease changes its stigma, sort of like AIDS at the time of its early outbreak.
I agree that different diseases carry with them varying levels of stigma, preconception, and misunderstanding. I thought first of different neurodegenerative diseases, which progress and/or activate at different times (like MS or ALS). I think diseases like this are often associated immediately with immobility or complete dehabilitation which removes the autonomy of the people suffering from them. Similarly to HIV-AIDS, misunderstanding surrounding neurodegenerative diseases contributes to the idea that they are basically death sentences, when some (like HIV-AIDS) can be managed and lived with while others can at least progress relatively slowly. Across all of these diseases is a common stigma of powerlessness– that is to say, people dealing with terminal or chronic diagnoses suddenly fall victim to their diseases, and no longer have the same bodily agency of a healthy person. I think this contributes to a culture that infantilizes and condescends to people dealing with long-term or terminal diagnoses, rather than respecting their autonomy and realizing that their conditions do not define them.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, HIV-AIDs is not a neurodegenerative disease, I just meant that neurodegenerative diseases are, similarly to HIV-AIDS, still seen as death sentences.
DeleteI agree with Emma that AIDS have been used in a demeaning way and is still stigmatized today. People have used AIDS to diminish the value of someone in an essentially dehumanizing way. As a result of the negative connotations that have been associated with AIDS and HIV, people have begun to ignore, ostracize, and ridicule those who have suffered from the disease(s).
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know Ebola is a virus, but I vaguely recall a GIP event a couple years ago where a guy came to talk about his experience with treating patients with ebola. I feel like people begin to make jokes about Ebola and sometimes laugh it off because we assume there is no way we can come into contact with it; however, when he came to speak about it, I felt like I created a connection to it and because of that I began to understand it better. When I created a better understanding and idea of the virus, I took it much more seriously. Perhaps, if people can educate themselves or learn from others about a disease or virus, the stigmas and stereotypes will begin to disappear? What do y'all think?
I agree with Lux that different diseases and illnesses have different stereotypes and stigmas surrounding them. For instance, something like the common flu is seen as an illness that everyone gets almost every year, and not many think of it as fatal, even if it can be. However, with a disease more rare such as ALS, everyone thinks of it as fatal, with no cures or treatments that can beat it.
ReplyDeleteWith diseases such as AIDS/HIV, the negative stigma surrounding the disease makes the population ignore those who have the disease. With the disease originally affecting mostly the gay community, the population ignored it until it started affecting straight people.
I think that it's interesting to look at STIs in this context. Obviously STIs are contagious and are also contracted through sexual activity (a very stigmatized thing). Because of the stigmatization of sex, anything related such as STIs are also heavily stigmatized to the point where people don't even talk about them with their sexual partners and many feel shame or don't even know to get tested regularly. The stigmatization of sex as well as homophobia have been the causes of a lot of stereotypes / shame surrounding HIV, although I think the shame/stereotypes have minimized significantly since the late 20th century.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a freshman, I got really sick and had surgery to remove my gallbladder. Whenever people asked what was wrong with me, I felt uncomfortable saying it out loud. 1. Because, with this kind of surgery, there was no cast or evidence to prove that anything had happened, therefore, it was hard for people to believe that I had undergone something so drastic. And 2. Because when I told people the reasons behind getting surgery, it felt like people looked at me as if it was my fault, like I could’ve done something to prevent it, when, in reality, it was something I inherited and had no control over. This kind of experience is obviously pretty minor compared to most diseases, but it still became something I was so ashamed and embarrassed of. It took over every aspect of my life– whenever anyone talked to me, the first thing they asked was how I was doing with recovery. Obviously it isn’t a bad thing to want to know how someone is doing, but it became something that no one could look past, and something no one wanted/tried to look past– it completely defined me. I felt so much shame regarding this part of me, and a large part of that was my own doing. However, I do think that stigmas surrounding diseases can come from people’s general lack of knowledge and understanding about the disease. I think a lot of the time, people didn’t get what I was going through, and while I definitely could’ve helped the situation by opening up more, it was hard when people simply made assumptions about me. With words like “cancer” holding such negative connotations, it’s easy for people to take what basic information they know of cancer, make assumptions, and not try to understand the person behind that word. In order to lessen the shame surrounding diseases, we need to stop giving the word "disease" so much power, seeing as it’s just a word. There is more to someone than what people see on the surface, or to what cards they’ve been dealt, or to what titles they’ve been assigned, and by taking the time to learn what's beyond those cards and those titles, the shame that would usually come with all of it will greatly decrease.
ReplyDeleteI know we’re going to talk about this later on throughout the semester, but the most prominent disease with a major stigma attached to it that I can think of is HIV/AIDS, whose stigma was/is compounded by homophobia in addition to the mysterious nature and high fatality of the disease. Because it originally affected such a specific subset of people and was so deadly, the public perception of AIDS has taken a path unique to any other disease.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of what we’ve done in class so far, I think the “meet and greet” experiment engendered interesting responses from everyone regarding their diagnoses: although no one was actually in danger, people still felt pride if they had survived and shame if they had died as if it was through any feat of our own. I also think the concept of wanting to be patient Ø (as some people did) is something that might be thought-provoking to discuss in class.
I agree with what most others have said about HIV/AIDS having the most severe stereotypes. I know that when the disease first broke out people were initially ashamed to admit that they carried it, and I think some of that shame is still present today. Something that we need to do as a nation and even a world is to stop humiliating those carrying HIV/AIDS, which is obviously easier said than done, but something that is 100% necessary.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though I have only read 1 chapter of Sontag’s book, something that I found interesting and even slacked about was how in France and Italy they would tell the patients family that the patient had cancer before telling the person who actually had cancer. This shows how afraid people are of cancer, and how there is a stereotype/stigma attached.
One common stereotype is the reactions I have seen towards people with Vitiligo. Even though the skin disease is not contagious, I have seen people act differently around people with Vitiligo. People are afraid to hug or even touch those with Vitiligo because of the fear of getting the disease themselves. Moreover, I have seen others look at people with this disease with fear and shock on their faces. It is really unfortunate because even though the disease is harmless, Vitiligo can have emotional and psychological consequences because of society’s reaction to it. However, celebrities like Chantelle Brown-Young (aka Winnie Harlow), a spokesperson and fashion model with the skin condition, share their experience and break the stereotype of Vitiligo and what society deems beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the many others that have said that different diseases and illnesses have different stereotypes and stigmas but I also think that certain illnesses have been "targeted" more than others. The stigmatization of non-contagious illnesses is very popular like with cancer, many people after they find out someone is sick they tend to separate themselves from the person who's sick and treat them like a victim who has no hope. People with illnesses are also patronized whether people mean it or not, many people will start treating them as if they are fragile and about to break or that they need help with every little mundane task which can be very offensive.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a huge stigma around AIDS which is directly connected to deeply rooted homophobia in our society, like Isabel has said. AIDS is definitely the first illness that I thought of when I read Alexis's question and I think that the stigmatization of illnesses/diseases needs to stop.
I agree with the the statement most have said above that different illnesses/diseases carry different stereotypes. I think it is interesting, and Songtag points this out in her novel, that people equate certain illnesses with certain stereotypes and it affects the way ill individuals are treated by different people while also affecting the way the ill individuals treat themselves. I think it is interesting that the human brain morphs what the meaning of having a disease is even when it is clearly not the truth (if that makes sense). Regarding how the these certain stigmas can flow through the city and the brains of many people, I think it is important to not isolate someone for a disease that they can not help that is not contagious just out of fear of getting it.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard many stereotypes surrounding diseases other than sexually transmitted diseases and diseases that are currently lacking cures. In situations involving STD's stories of irresponsible sex and shame serve as the dominant narratives. For diseases lacking cures they become stereotyped due to the uncertainty and multitude of treatment options that are expected to help relieve the symptoms.
ReplyDeleteFor Luke: From the fear of the highly contagious to the apprehensions surrounding those battling the horrors of mental illness, we as a society have developed attitudes about diseases, ranking and qualifying them. How we conceptualize these illnesses has direct implications on whether we demonstrate compassion or wariness toward those that fall to this sort of misfortune. The issue of drugs in the city of Los Angeles is one such health problem, and it struggles to be recognized as a disease rather than a moral failure. It is the tension between these two camps that makes drug addiction highly susceptible to the sociopolitical climate. The 1980s saw the rampant use of cocaine throughout the city, with those in the minority communities using the “crack” form of the drug. Drug laws imposed much stiffer prison sentences for those using the cheaper, more readily available form found in minority communities. White middle-class users were often sent to rehab or given a considerably shorter amount of time behind bars. This example of a racist drug policy demonstrates how the very idea of who the epidemic effects, dictates whether the person should be seen as a criminal or a victim, an inmate or a patient. The opiate epidemic has been embraced as a white, middle-class problem, despite it creating a tremendous amount of damage to poor whites as well, and this designation earns it the respect of being a disease that is stealing the potential from entire communities. The blame is placed on weak borders that fail to keep the drugs out of our country. The blame is placed on doctors that over-prescribe these pills to their unwitting patients. The blame is NOT found in the individual. The shame and stigma are reduced for them. Not so for the minority. With a hypocritical lens, we see them as having low morals and are in need of punitive measures to address their failings.
ReplyDelete