Re-defining stigmatization: intersectional stigma of single mothers in Thailand

ABSTRACT This article draws on participant observations and interviews with 35 single mothers and five social workers from NGOs that assist single mothers in Thailand. It reveals that single mothers experience intersectional stigma in their everyday lives, based on their gender, class, ethnicity, religious status and other dominant categories manifested in Thai society. Moreover, the stigmatization is a differentiated process, which is affected by social distance; it begins with self-stigmatization and moves outwards to family, community, and ultimately to the Thai state and society. With the increase of social distance, the degree of intersectional stigma becomes more severe and more complex. By rejecting the view of stigmatization as a homogeneous, analogous and monolithic set of experiences, and demonstrating that single mothers in Thailand face multiple forms of oppression and marginalization, the study contributes to theorizing the plurality of intersecting stigmatization.