Applying the Concepts of ‘Stigma’ and ‘Dehumanization’ to the Study of Inequalities

Abstract

Inequalities are complex and multifaceted social phenomena that must be scrutinised and tackled with all the theoretical (and practical) resources at our disposal. This piece departs from the assumption that it is important to broaden the scope ofresearch about inequalities and go beyond the most common approaches to the topic, such as studies which focus on the structures that produce and perpetuate inequalities. In the contemporary world there are a variety of types of inequalities based on identities related not only to social class, but also to gender, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so on. I will argue that, by focusing on the individual, the concept of “stigma”, as introduced by Erving Goffman, alongside the mechanisms of “dehumanization” and “infrahumanization”, as currently studied in the fields of neurosciences and social psychology, may contribute to a better understanding of patterns of reproduction and reinforcement of inequalities in contemporary societies. They are also useful for devising strategies to rehumanize those that live at the margins of society. In fact, it is part of the research agenda of social psychologists and neuroscientists that have been studying processes of dehumanization and infrahumanization to conceive measures that could contribute to abolish (or at least reduce) the proclivity ofcertain perpetrators to dehumanize other human beings. I will finally argue that the branches ofsocial sciences that most commonly study inequalities at a macro level (economics and sociology) or a microlevel (anthropology) would greatly benefit from coming into closer contact with the research on dehumanization and infrahumanization being undertaken in the fields of social psychology and neurosciences, and vice-versa.