Deck 31: Collective Stigma Management and Shame: Avowal, Management, and Contestation

Question 1

Martin draws on Goffman's concept of frame analysis to undertake a study of three "appearance" organizations which provide members, albeit in different ways, with

A) discursive and other strategies for managing or contesting bodily shame.
B) resources for effectively managing body weight without starvation or pain.
C) strategies for overweight people based on nutrition science and physical fitness.
D) communal solutions to the fundamental riddles of individual life.

Answer 1

discursive and other strategies for managing or contesting bodily shame.

Question 2

The concept of an "organizational frame" refers to

A) that element of an organization which has no fixed, exact meaning but may become the basis for change and innovation.
B) a social reference group that serves as a person's mentor during the process of becoming a new person.
C) a collection of rules and maps for coordinating space and other resources within the organization.
D) the structure, ideology and agenda of an organization that provides members with a set of definitions for constructing meaning and practices.

Answer 2

the structure, ideology and agenda of an organization that provides members with a set of definitions for constructing meaning and practices.

Question 3

The organizational frame of Overeaters Anonymous is

A) a behavioral model of treatment that emphasizes the power of positive thinking.
B) a rational model for weight reduction that offers techniques for managing food consumption.
C) an activist model of challenging the status quo and advocating civil rights of fat and large people.
D) a redemptive model of treatment that stresses the concept of disease.

Answer 3

a redemptive model of treatment that stresses the concept of disease.

Question 4

The organizational frame of NAAFA is

A) a rational model for weight reduction that offers techniques for managing food consumption.
B) a redemptive model of treatment similar to AA that stresses the concept of disease.
C) an activist model of challenging the status quo and advocating civil rights of fat and large people.
D) a behavioral model of treatment that emphasizes the power of positive thinking.

Question 5

The organizational frame of Weight Watchers is

A) a rational model for weight reduction that offers techniques for managing food consumption.
B) a behavioral model of treatment that emphasizes the power of positive thinking.
C) a redemptive model of treatment that stresses the concept of disease
D) an activist model of challenging the status quo and advocating civil rights of fat and large people.

Question 6

"Shame work" refers to

A) social labor designed to ease the emotional transition of a person into a group.
B) emotional labor aimed at increasing levels of shame to a level where persons will take corrective action.
C) emotional labor aimed at decreasing levels of shame to a level where persons will take corrective action.
D) emotional labor aimed at evoking, removing or managing shame.

Question 7

Shame work at Overeaters Anonymous consists of

A) "shame neutralization" whereby one learns to justify or excuse one's fat body through various neutralization techniques such as not being responsible, etc.
B) contesting shame through various forms of "fat activism" such as a "body announcement" where one's fat body is displayed publicly in a shameless way.
C) "shame avowal" or an open acknowledgement of past and present shame experiences which atones for the shame experience.
D) shame management through remedial work during group meetings and intrapersonal strategies for minimizing body shame.

Question 8

Shame work at NAAFA consists of

A) "shame neutralization" whereby one learns to justify or excuse one's fat body through various neutralization techniques such as not being responsible, etc.
B) "shame avowal" or an open acknowledgement of past and present shame experiences which atones for the shame experience.
C) shame management through remedial work during group meetings and intrapersonal strategies for minimizing body shame.
D) contesting shame through various forms of "fat activism" such as a "body announcement" where one's fat body is displayed publicly in a shameless way.

Question 9

Shame work at Weight Watchers consists of

A) shame management through remedial work during group meetings and intrapersonal strategies for minimizing body shame.
B) "shame neutralization" whereby one learns to justify or excuse one's fat body through various neutralization techniques such as not being responsible, etc.
C) "shame avowal" or an open acknowledgement of past and present shame experiences which atones for the shame experience.
D) contesting shame through various forms of "fat activism" such as a "body announcement" where one's fat body is displayed publicly in a shameless way.

Question 10

Discuss the organizational frames of each of the three different "appearance" organizations studied by Martin. How do they compare? Do you think one organization is more appealing or more likely to succeed than another? Why or why not?

Question 11

Describe, compare and discuss the various types of 'shame work" accomplished at each of the three organizations studied by Martin. What do these different approaches to shame suggest about the social nature of personal emotions such as shame? Explain.

Question 12

How do males and females in Weight Watchers compare in their experiences of body shame? What strategies for managing and minimizing possible body shame are utilized by Weight Watchers?