ABSTRACT
Sociologist Erving Goffman's 1963 book Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity is still the most influential description of the processes of stigmatization. Goffman frequently uses disabilities as examples of stigmas, which has increased the influence of his book on those attempting to understand the social devaluing of people with disabilities. Although Goffman's work contains significant insights that apply to the experience of disability, I believe that his lumping together all sources of stigma, which causes him to overgeneralize, prevents him from seeing some crucial aspects of the stigmas of illness and disability. In addition, because he does not question the social ‘norms’ that stigmatize people with disabilities, he tends to adopt a patronizing tone in speaking of people who do not meet them, and to belittle and underestimate their efforts to live by different ‘norms.’
