Goffman's Dramaturgical Theory

When somebody begins to feel dizzy and coughs sporadically, or when an individual breaks their arm, the normal thing to do is to see a doctor. When seeking medical expertise or consultation, many people expect that they will obtain a reason for why their bodies are not working at its normal everyday state, and that the doctors are able to prescribe something to fix their problem. Sometimes it can be easy to predict a diagnosis like the common cold, while other times, it can be the exact opposite and require a doctor’s perspective. However, physicians are also humans and make mistakes, meaning that they are not always right. The aftermath of my experience led me to not only question medical authority, but to also hide myself by doing what many
According to Goffman, there are three types of causes that results into the stigmatization of the individual (Goffman, 1997, 205). These differences can about a physical appearance, their personality, or something that they are born with and that they are unable to change like ethnicity (Goffman, 1997, 205). Additionally, Goffman’s dramaturgical theory notes that people hide what they believe is a discrediting attribute in order to show society the best impression of their best selves (Goffman, 1997, 203). The aftermath of my experience led me to dread going to my next class out of fear that I would be treated differently and that I would be stigmatized. Not wanting to show my peers that I was weak or fragile indicates that I did not want them to stigmatize my character. Moreover, after passing out the school nurse suggested I go home and rest, illustrating him giving access to the sick role. Though, not wanting to appear weak, I convinced him that I was fine, thus signifying not only the stigmatization of my character, but also engaging in impression management by showing the nurse that I was feeling healthy. Besides managing my impression to the school nurse, I had to do it to several of my peers. Many of my classmates questioned me about my state leading me to reassure them that I was doing alright, despite the fact that I was afraid it would happen again. I had
In Ziporyn’s (1992) book, she discusses that there is no clear and concise definition of any disease and that diseases are defined by their symptoms and vice-versa (7). She adds that the reason that there is no standard definition is due to the fact that physicians are looking at different aspects of the disease (Ziporyn, 1992, 4). In order for the doctor to identify a disease, they must discover the clincher, meaning an aspect that clearly classifies what kind of disease it is (Ziporyn, 1992, 56). Although, inside Nettleton’s (2005) article, she looked at patients who were ill, but their symptoms were unexplainable, also known as medically unexplained symptoms or MUS (1170). The doctors that viewed patients with MSU could not identify the clincher. These patients could not claim the sick role and similar to Ziporyn’s (1992) findings, they blamed the patient (5). When looking back at my experience, the symptoms included stress, fatigue, dizziness, feeling hot, having trouble breathing, and so on. The reason behind me not getting a diagnosis could possibly be because the doctor could not discover the clincher, thus leaving me without a diagnosis and seeking for a second opinion. Furthermore, an alternative that Ziporyn (1992) mentions is admitting that the doctor does not know what’s wrong (6). When I fainted, the first doctor I met could not admit that he