Stigma in general occurs when a social group is rejected, devalued, ignored or oppressed on the basis of assumed group attributes, whether these are true, partly true or false. Stigma negatively affects disabled people’s socio-political status, social mobility, social interaction, economic situation, and their physical and psychological well-being.

Below are the four mechanisms of stigma, as described by sociologists Bruce Link and Jo Phelan in 2001:

1. Labelling: Social groups are categorised in a way that is overgeneralised and oversimplified – for instance, the ‘disabled’
2. Stereotyping: the stigmatised group is associated with undesirable personality traits, which contributes to the development of negative attitudes towards them – for instance, disabled people are seen as ‘incapable’ – see more about stereotyping.
3. Separation: This creates the binary of ‘us’ (the ingroup) versus ‘them’ (the outgroup), whereby the ingroup considers itself as normal, whilst it considers the outgroup as abnormal – for instance, non-disabled people vs. disabled people
4. Discrimination: The stigmatised outgroup experiences harmful behaviour (e.g. ableism, racism, sexism) and negative social conditions – for instance, welfare policies that disadvantage disabled people

In media representations, stigmatisation happens through the first three mechanisms: labelling, stereotyping and separation. For example, the film Me Before You (2016) portrays Will Traynor, a wealthy young man, who becomes paralysed after a motorcycle accident. His quadriplegia is constantly emphasised in visuals, dialogue and narrative. The entire narrative premise is about him not being able to come to terms with his condition.

The film stereotypes him as being incapable of leading a body-normative life. He is shown in situations, in which he needs support from a non-disabled person (e.g. shaving). The backstory reveals that Will was an active sportsman and successful banker before the accident. These narrative elements repeatedly emphasise his perceived physical, social and economic incapability, which makes him cynical and depressive. All these contribute to him wanting to end his own life, which he eventually does.

The entire film juxtaposes non-disabled people with him being disabled, reinforcing the social boundary between the non-disabled ingroup and the disabled outgroup. More so, it prompts negative attitudes in the ingroup to regard Will as abnormal, undesirable and pitiable.

Of course, it is important for media to tell stories about such lived experiences. The author, Jojo Moyes, even confirms that the story is based on a real person she knows. However, the repeated representation of disabled people as incapable and pitiable (or superhuman, which is another stereotype explored later) have maintained the stigma. There is a vast lack of alternative representations that don’t apply simplistic labels and stereotypes.

If any media content aims to reduce stigma, it needs to address the first three mechanisms of stigmatisation. All the models presented later offer different strategies for this.

More information about how stigma works can be found in Chapter 1 of my book.

Read in the next section how the concept of social identities is instrumental in maintaining or reducing stigma.