Stigmatization Series: Stigma Power Motivations

Stigma Power is a hidden agenda with a strategic end goal. Stigma Power Motivations stem from a group of people who want to keep others controlled, oppressed and suppressed. Those targeted are selected for various reasons and due to various factors, such as not accepting the dominant culture's values and beliefs. Some examples of people and groups that utilize stigmas as a weapon include, but are not limited to:

A visual representation of stigma (domains & their respective themes). 

1. Abusive spouses and those around them with a collective mindset, such as their extended family and inner circles. Often times, abusers deem women and children as inferiors. They use manipulation to campaign and army build against their target while converting that individual's existing support group to gain them on his side and/or severing her ties with them. Such toxic people use lies, bribery, aggression and other control tactics in their arsenal if necessary -- including on the children.
2. The Legal Arena, with an existing and collective dominating culture, which clashes with your family of origin's culture. Outsiders. For instance, in a small demographic area, the lawyers, the judge who may come from the same law firm as the opposing lawyer, court experts paid by the opposing team, subordinates in the legal field who don't want to lose their job, may all embrace a colonial culture and mindset in a Family Law proceeding.
3. Villagers and small communities.
4. Organizations with their own subcultures.
5. Mental Health Institutions. 
6. White Supremist Groups.
7. Toxic Corporate work environments.

The following explains what the stigma power motivation is.

Stigma Power Motivation

"On the most basic level, it was never about mental acuity or
medical treatment;it was about exerting control over women’s lives
 and bodies—all under the guise of medicine...Their stories
also serve to highlight the chauvinism of early psychiatry,
which often punished women for breaking social norms."
Click here to continue reading article
How Victorian Women Were Oppressed Using Psychiatry.
 

The Stigma Power Motivation for an organization or institution is to keep you either inside the institution and under it's control or to keep you away from it (Link & Phelan, 2014). Sometimes, it is both. For instance, in the Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench, there is a cultural trend to keep healthy mothers inside the courtroom through various proceedings in order to ultimately keep them away from their children, who end up with their abusers. The mothers are then stigmatized in various ways. 

A common and normalized, classic cliche every abuser and abusive system uses to stigmatize women is by stating she has a mental illness. This is soooo 19th Century. 

Did you know that for centuries “being female” was classed as a mental disorder? Dr Jessica Taylor shares the surprising history:

Being female was literally classified as a mental disorder for centuries. Women had always been described by philosophers, scientists and physicians as defective, deformed, mutated versions of men. This is where the “male as default” thinking comes from, which plagues science to this day. Women were described as problematic, with a range of mental and physical disorders that men couldn’t (or wouldn’t) decipher. By the eighteenth century, one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses used to control, imprison, and violate women was that of hysteria. (Emphasis added by me. Click here to continue reading this Reader's Digest article entitled The Shocking History of Female Asylums.)

The following is described from Lunacy in the 19th Century: Women's Admission to Asylum's in United States of America by authors Katherina Pouba and Ashley Tianen:

Between the years of 1850-1900, women were placed in mental institutions for behaving in ways that male society did not agree with. Women during this time period had minimal rights, even concerning their own mental health. Research concluded that many women were admitted for reasons that could be questionable... Women with symptoms were later diagnosed insane by reasons such as religious excitement, epilepsy, and suppressed menustration. The symptoms and diagnoses presented, show that labeling of women as insane was done very lightly and was influenced by social attitudes toward women. Did these women truly need to be admitted to asylums, or was their admittance an example of their lack of power to control their own lives? Further research could raise additional questions such as a comparison of the rate of admittance between American-born and immigrant women. (Emphasis added by me.)

19th Century Reasons for Asylym Admission

Yes, you read that right. Thus, such allegations against women continue to occur in present day, predominantly in particular organizations, institutions, cultural settings and demographics. They are considered justifiable by the powers assigning stigmas to marginalized people, often times mothers who are continuously dragged into the legal arena as if in the clutches of a big leopard. 

However, many rational and logical people in the public in a wide demographic oppose such primitive practices. The majority should rule, not the tight knit subculture clawing to power using covert stigma strategies and outdated, outfits, of legal hysteria. Deaf leopards...

For instance, this occurs when it is proven that a father has attended an abusive men's program with various ailments, such as alcoholism, which is classified as an actual, bonafide mental illness. Such mental diss-orders and addictions is suppose to be a major negative in child custody cases, yet abusers "achieve" primary child custody. The public watches. It's like an Ancient row man arena. The trust in the legal system declines, but is blind to the eyes of those focused on their Stigma Power Motivations.

Remember: a judge is to have expertise in the cases he hears, such as Family Law where abuse is rampant. The lawyers must also be well versed in the law. When the collective legal arena supports and exercises their stigma power motivations, injustices occur. As such, it is also important to consider the following.

Stigmatization Is A Cultural Issue

Stigmatization is a cultural issue, which involves the demographic of the culture in concentrated geographic areas. Sociologist Pierre Bourdeiu noted that "Power is often most effectively deployed when it is hidden or "misrecognized"... I would include that it is blatantly and boldly minimized by the dominating group with the perceived power to label and stigmatize others as an act of assigning labels. The reasons for doing so include, but are not limited to:

The Sociological Review, The Stigma Conversations
Podcast series

• To assign you as an inferior in order for those misusing power to feel and feed their superiority.  

• To devalue you and reassign you a much lower value, position, etc, in order to demoralize you, particularly in a specific social context or role. The Cambridge Dictionary definition of devaluation is "the action of causing someone or something to be considered less valuable or important".

• To elaborate on the power of the stigma and demoralize you. Demoralization is an intentional process initiated by those in positions of power to strategically ensure that they make you lose hope, drive, confidence, enthusiasm, and justice for yourself and on behalf of other marginalized people. With this strategy, YOU become an example to others of what they can and will do before displaying you as an example.   

• To elicit a stress response in you, and in turn, deplete your emotion regulation abilities and the effect it has on your adverse mental health. This basically means that if you didn't have mental health issues prior, the powers that target you will ensure that they trigger stress in you, or for instance negative reactions from you, to ensure you fulfill their script, their label and provide proof for their spoof due to your response. In this way, they justify their stigmatization of you.

Saskatchewan has the second highest Domestic Violence (DV) or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) rates in Canada. DV, IPV, stalking, harassment and various forms of abuse extends into the courtroom where abusers and abusive systems label and stigmatize women. There are many women in the demographic of Saskatchewan who are experiencing gross injustice in the Saskatchewan Family Law legal arena in 2023. Outside of Saskatchewan, what has become normal within the province as determined by the powers that be, is abnormal treatment by outside observers. Those in positions of power in the legal arena are viewed as being deficient by other professionals and the public in general.

Additional Sources:

Association for Psychological Science. April 16, 2018. The Science Behind Cultural Stigma.

Lancer, Darlene, JD, LMFT. June 5, 2017. The Truth About Abusers, Abuse, and What To Do. How to spot an abusive partner before it's too late. Psychology Today.

Link, Bruce and Jo Phelan. February 2014. Stigma Power. Science Direct: Social Science & Medicine, Volume 103, pages 24 - 32.

Stigmatization Series: Defining Mental Illness in The Courtroom, From Parents to Judges

This is the first blog post in my new Stigmatization Series. Throughout this series, I will draw on Sociology, Psychology and Legal expertise and theories. In the upcoming weeks, I shall explore for your reading pleasure:

• The motives for stigmatization
• How it is used for social control in various institutions and organizations
• The effects culture plays in stigmatizing a person or a group
• Provide the formula on how to destigmatize a person or a group using both Sociology and Psychology

The central theme around stigmatization appears to focus on, and involve, mental illnesses, but stigmatization extends far beyond the aspect of healthcare. In future blogs, I will explore other areas that weaponize stigmas. In this post, I'll focus on the aspect of defining mental dis-orders and what it means when there is an attempt to stigmatize a parent in the Saskatchewan legal arena. As such, mental illness affects everyone, including those in power positions, such as the judicial.

What Exactly Is Considered A Mental Illness?

From the National Library for Medicine, we are told what exactly is considered a mental illness, otherwise known as a mental dis-order. Yes, a diss... order... in the court, family courtly proceedings... MedlinePlus: Trusted Health Information for You describes it as "Mental [dis-orders or mental ill-nessies, lockness monsters🐉 in the key channel] are conditions that affect your thinking, feeling, mood, and behavior... They can affect your ability to relate to others and function each day." I, of course, added the "[red alert]" information, as is scholarly and sophisticated to do. However, read that last line of the quote in its entirety again, "They can affect your ability to relate to others and function each day" (italics and bolding mine). Interesting, isn't it? 

In addition, to further prepare you for the very serious consequences of being stigmatized, which is the goal of those in power doing the stigmatizing, consider what is described as the conditions to mental dis-orders: "conditions that affect your thinking, feeling, mood, and behaviour". Basically, let us ponder on these examples that may lead to a one way ticket to stigma:

1. Ladies, avoid showing ANY symptoms of PMS, please. Period. 
2. Gentlemen, at the risk of Saskatchewan stereotypes, do not consume drugs or alcohol. Full stop.

However, there is a wide range of mental disorders that are lumped together in one category under the terminology and label that someone is "mentally ill". The Mayo Clinic includes examples that include a wide range such as depression to schizophrenia to addictions. There is too wide of a range that can be interpreted in any way, by anyone, when the word "mental illness" is used. Remember, the term is used to describe mental disorders, which can be anything from a common reaction to stress and trauma, such as anxiety, or to serious mental issues that pose a real danger to others and society, such as psychopaths committing pedophilia and/or murder. 

Image from The National Institute for Mental Health PTSD 

Every profession and professional can experience mental illness, but not suffer from stigmatization due to their position in society. For instance, RCMP officers and healthcare workers experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as do women experiencing Domestic Violence, also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Currently and particularly in the Court of King's Bench in Saskatchewan, there is ample knowledge and first hand accounts repeatedly being shared -- and as is noted by psychologists, counsellors and sociologists -- that women experiencing PTSD, trauma or anxiety at the hands of their abusers are (or there is an attempt to) stigmatize them as mentally ill as an excuse to award abusers child custody. Yet, no court or community would do the same to a RCMP officer or healthcare worker to prevent them from being a parent. It's as if it's on reserve for certain groups, and it is cuz that's the way stigmatization works, my Lovelies.

Social status matters, as does the current Saskatchewan dominant legal culture. Lawyers and Judges are not exempt from various mental illnesses, and the degrees of severity can also fluctuate in them. After all, we are all human, aren't we?

In 2021, the Ohio Lawyer's Assistance Program (OLAP,) addressed mental illness, or mental disorders, in judges. It is only rational and reasonable that regular risk assessments be made on the judicial, equally and without bias, to monitor the mental health of judges making life altering decisions with court orders. Mental illness can remain hidden. In positions of power, for a high powered career, maintenance is required. Monitoring systems that involve periodical psychological assessments for those with judicial power, and making life altering decisions that affect lives, need to be implemented:

We have heard about the dangers of mental illness for attorneys, but now it is time to shed light on judges... It is a judge's job to provide competent guidance to the public, but an undiagnosed mental disorder could affect the way he or she decides a case. It is important that judges seek help... ~ Scott R. Mote, Esq, O-lap (emphasis mine.)

What It Means to Be Stigmatized

Figure 3 taken from  Evidence synthesis Structural determinants of stigma 
across health and social condition: a rapid review and
conceptual frameworkto guide future research and intervention

There is a process to becoming stigmatized, which I shall elaborate on in future blog posts. In an article entitled Evidence synthesis: Structural determinants of stigma across health and social condition: a rapid review and conceptual framework to guide future research and intervention, stigma is described as being:

enabled by social, economic and political inequities, through which negative labels, beliefs and perceived differences between groups can culminate in discrimination and status loss.

Basically, what it means to be stigmatized is to be forced into a social and cultural process by the power of authorities who label you, place you in a category, deteriorate your quality of life and hyper-monitor your every move. Seriously.

The goal with the process of stigma is to ensure a person loses status through enforcing discrimination - and falsehoods in many instances - by the current social, economic and political powers. This process involves differences, or perceived differences, between cultures with power imbalances. The article written by Bolster-Foucault et al elaborates that "As Link and Phelan wrote, "...stigma exists when elements of labelling, stereotyping, separation, status, loss and discrimination occur together in a power situation that allows them" to (Bolster-Foucault et al, 2021). If they can get away with it, they will achieve their agenda.

Collectively, let's not allow it in Saskatchewan child custody cases where abusers are awarded custody and their victims and targets are stigmatized. That's just not reasonable, nor showing sound judgment and a healthy mental capacity. Stay tuned for part two...

Sources:

Bolster-Foucault, Clara; Ho Mi Fane, Brigitte; Blair, Alexandra, PhD. March 2021. Evidence synthesis: Structural determinants of stigma across health and social conditions: a rapid review and conceptual framework to guide future research and intervention.

Mote, Scott R. October 2021. Judges and secondary traumatic stress: What to do about it. Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program, USA.

Sociology is a Martial Art... For The People

The infamous statement "Sociology is a Martial Art" derives from Author & Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. His work is described as "elucidating the processes of symbolic violence and cultural domination in various areas of social life". Through educating yourself while incorporating critical thinking with logic and reason, complete with evidence/research, you are better able to protect yourself and others: The People, who can then in turn protect themselves... 

That is, unless common sense escapes those in positions of power and authority, and compels them to make ludicrous decisions. Such illogical decisions, and illegal in many cases, are based on their behavior and personal beliefs that become actions that are deemed unfit for society. 

"What I defend above all is the possibility and the necessity of the critical intellectual, who is firstly critical of the intellectual doxa secreted by the doxosophers. There is no genuine democracy without genuine opposing critical powers. The intellectual is one of those, of the first magnitude. That is why I think that the work of demolishing the critical intellectual, living or dead... is as dangerous as the demolition of the public interest and that it is part of the same process of restoration.

Of course I would prefer it if intellectuals had all, and always, lived up to the immense historical responsibility they bear and if they had always invested in their actions not only their moral authority but also their intellectual competence- like, to cite just one example, Pierre Vidal-Naquet, who has engaged all his mastery of historical method in a critique of the abuses of history. Having said that, in the words of Karl Kraus, 'between two evils, I refuse to choose the lesser.' whole I have little indulgence for 'irresponsible' intellectuals, I have even less respect for the 'intellectuals' of the political-administrative establishment, polymorphous polygraphs who polish their annual essays between two meetings of boards of directors, three publishers' parties and miscellaneous television appearances.”

~ Pierre Bourdieu, Acts of Resistance: Against the Tyranny of the Market (bolding added).

Sociology Professor Bourdieu Earned Celebrity Status

Bourdieu reached celebrity status while being highly controversial at times. A prolific writer and Sociology Professor at the College de France, he advocated that scholars and writers need to utilize their expertise and "specialized knowledge to bear on social and political issues".

“In the case of sociology however, 

we are always walking on hot coals, 

and the things we discuss are alive, 

they're not dead and buried”

~ Pierre Bourdieu

Educate The Public To Re-Public Democracy

To educate the public is to re-public a democracy. As defined by Oxford Languages, a republic is "a state in which Supreme Power is held BY the people and their representatives" who are elected, nominated or appointed as Leaders. Silence has no place in Sociology, a field rich in kick ass exposes after being oppressed, undercover or having the ability to remain below the radar in their investigative work. 

I shall write about the rich history of Sociologists and their examples that kicked ass, individually and collectively, in upcoming blog posts. 

Sociology... The Rebel's Department and tis aaaall legal...