Covid 19. Contagion and Stigmatization

Sandro Serpa and Carlos Miguel Ferreira
University of the Azores

Abstract

The pandemic caused by COVID-19, as a disease caused by transmission of the virus from one sick individual to another, shapes the whole economic and social life and even the (non) social relations established between groups and the social interactions between individuals. By mobilizing Gofman's proposal to analyze situations of stigmatization in which individuals are incapable of full social status due to a certain socially perceived characteristic, we seek to contribute to the analysis of COVID-19 disease as contagion and stigmatization. It is concluded that the heuristic capacity of Goffman's classic proposal allows, still today, to contribute to apprehend the social processes involved in COVID-19, which are sometimes relegated to the background but are essential for a broader understanding of this problem and consequent definition of measures to be taken.


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