The Goffmanian Conundrum - great article on stigma!

Communication Studies

Vol. 65, No. 2, April–June 2014, pp. 208–222

This Goffmanian Conundrum: Supporting the Status Quo or Forced

to Manage Societal Ramifications?

Susan A. Stearns

This article presents Goffman’s (1956, 1963) description of particular micro-social

systems exhibiting embarrassment with the potential to escalate into stigma as a

near prescriptive communication cycle coined the Goffmanian Conundrum. The

impact of  this Goffmanian Conundrum is examined both across communication

contexts and within one particular context: the darkside of organizational

communication, specifically in relation to muting and silencing, incivility, and

bullying, concluding with the need to better understand stigma as a mediating

influence on communication.

Keywords: Bullying; Embarrassment; Incivility; Organizational Communication;

Stigma