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Goffman’s Tempting the Devil in Stigma: A Close Rereading of Goffman’s “Subversive” Construct of “the Normals” Versus “the Stigmatized”

This article engages in a close rereading of Stigma, relating it to Goffman’s biography as a person who faced stigma. Exploring his biography helps us to recognize the ways Goffman applies stigma strategies in how he represents himself as the author in Stigma. I explain that the strategic ways in which he represents himself as the author can be understood by seeing them as “tricks of the trade” used by “the stigmatized,” and more specifically as “passing as fun,” which Goffman describes as “tempting the devil” or fooling “the normals.” This article aims to show that a key to an in-depth understanding of Stigma lies in gaining insight into the multilayered and often ironic ways in which Goffman represents himself in relation to what he calls “the normals.” By exploring Goffman’s semi-hidden positionality, this article demonstrates that Goffman sides with “the stigmatized” while exposing their ordeal and the hegemonic force of the interaction order.

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Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 09/19/2026 | Link to this post on IFP |
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