Social Stigmas.

Social stigma is a negative response to individuals who have characteristics that are different from the social norms. This article addresses the sociological function of deviance and looks at Erving Goffman's types of stigma, including his six dimensions of stigma and his discussion of the stigmatized and stigmatizers. It considers labeling theory in understanding stigma further and discusses several stigmatized groups in an attempt to understand the extent these negative labels can be damaging. Postmodernism is looked at as a critique of the interactionist approach.