TY - JOUR T1 - Stigma JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 294 LP - 294 DO - 10.3399/bjgp08X280092 VL - 58 IS - 549 AU - Mike Fitzpatrick Y1 - 2008/04/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/58/549/294.1.abstract N2 - The need to challenge stigma, in relation to HIV or mental illness or issues of disability, is a recurring theme in the pronouncements of the leading organisations of the medical profession.According to the Canadian sociologist Erving Goffman, the term ‘stigma’ describes the ‘situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance’.1 Taking a historical view of his subject, Goffman recognised that ‘shifts have occurred in the kinds of disgrace that arouse concern’. Indeed, over recent decades there have been some remarkable shifts in relation to some of the areas of stigma discussed by Goffman.For example, homosexuality, one of the categories of stigma featured prominently in Goffman's study, was once defined by doctors as a disease and by the police as a crime. Yet, … ER -