ABSTRACT
The concept of stigma has been subject to much debate within a variety of academic, activist, and governmental fields. This chapter discusses various theoretical interpretations of stigma whilst also giving consideration to the way activists, campaign groups, and individuals have attempted to challenge the negative effects of being subject to stigma, with a specific focus on mental health and disability. In doing so, it is argued that a therapeutic sensibility permeates much of the debate, a sensibility that crosses the political spectrum to a significant degree, with shared assumptions about the fragility and political impotence of both the stigmatised and those who do the stigmatising
