As Sontag’s work has comprised the majority of our readings thus far, Stephanie and I thought that continuing her discussion of the metaphors that surround certain illnesses would be appropriate.
While we have talked a lot in class about the metaphors of the illnesses Sontag wrote of (TB, Cancer, and AIDS) and acknowledged the metaphors surrounding those certain diseases are less relevant in today’s society (Sontag, did, after all, write the last essay a couple decades ago…)we have not really discussed the diseases or conditions that have replaced them. In her book Sontag wrote, “It seems that societies need to have one illness which becomes identified with evil, and attaches blame to its ‘victims,’ but it is hard to be obsessed with more than one” (104). She also cited other diseases for examples of that “need”, including the plague, tuberculosis, and syphilis. Every disease Sontag discussed in her two essays was the “disease of the day” in its period of time. At the time she wrote her two essays, the plague, tuberculosis and syphilis were definitely not the illnesses of the day, and Cancer and AIDS had replaced them. At the time, her point seemed sufficiently valid. Now that neither Cancer nor AIDS is that disease, however, and a lack of epidemic characterizes the world, Stephanie and I were wondering if you agree with Sontag in her assertion of a constant presence of a stigmatized disease, and if you do, what you think the illness that carries the most stigmatism in our time is. In order to get the discussion going, we also answered that question with our own opinions.
Stephanie: I believe that the most stigmatized disease of today is not necessarily a single disease but a group of disorders. I think that genetic disorders are some of the most stigmatized diseases both because of the cause and because of the ethics behind some of the treatments and testing. The Human Genome Project was finished in 2000 so access to human genes has never been higher. This allows for more understanding of the cause of genetic disorders but also leads to the idea that the disorder is brought on by an error in the very code that makes a person who they are. There are so many ethical questions surrounding the practice of looking at a person’s genome for disorders and what action to take if a disorder is found. I think that the prevalence of genetic disorders will continue to increase as scientists spend more time exploring the human genome and that the issue will grow in the future.
MaryKate: Though I am far from educated on the nature of disorders, diseases, and genetic conditions and the stigmas certain ones may carry, I feel that, just from observation, there is not an illness today that possesses the same magnitude of negative metaphor as Sontag pointed out with TB, Cancer, and AIDs. While elements of negative perceptions of illnesses certainly still exist as remnants of the early, rather ignorant views on Cancer and AIDs, I do not think one illness has replaced them in society as a whole. Genetic disorders can be seen as a flaw in the core of a human, but I don’t believe that is a view widely held. Nor do I believe that diseases such as diabetes carry a society-wide stigma. There are undeniably, however, lingering stigmas that exist for several illnesses. Yet, in comparison to the diseases Sontag presented, none qualify as the “metaphorically burdened illness” of the day.
I believe, using strictly Sontag's quote above to develop an operational definition of the kinds of disease about which she is writing, that the most stigmatized condition in today's American society is obesity. Although I believe that there is no disease/disorder/condition that carries quite the stigma of AIDS or cancer, Sontag writes of an illness identified with evil and which ascribes blame to its victims. With the focus put on weight, weight loss, and the “ideal” body by the media, obesity has become an affliction stigmatized as a highly undesirable circumstance that is brought on almost exclusively by the obese person. Obese people commonly report that obesity is seen as something preventable and nonsensical (they should just eat less and walk more), and they feel that they are harshly judged and unfairly treated in public. In fact, most glamorized weight loss stories, such as those seen on T.V., carry some implicit or explicit commentary that the obese person thought their options were to either lose weight or die. Again, obesity does not carry the same metaphors that cancer or AIDS did when Sontag wrote about them, and we do currently live in a time when there is no great epidemic emergency, but I feel that the stigma surrounding obesity is the closest to what Sontag meant when she wrote her essay.
ReplyDeleteI agree with virtually everything that has been said thus far; genetic disorders, obesity, and even cancer and AIDS do still carry a certain stigma of fear in our society today. Another "condition" that I would add to the list would be any illness that comes from animals or food - mad cow disease, bird flu, salmonella outbreaks, etc. These types of illnesses, once introduced into the general public, are difficult to control because the contaminated products have already hit the markets. At that point, recalls are issued and society responds with a general sense of panic as the possibility of illness floods news headlines. Still, I do not think that any of these social constructions of illness can compare to those which Sontag describes. It is certain that our society has certain illnesses which we identify as evil - we live in a culture of hypochondriacs who search the internet for the worst possible cause of their symptoms and visits the emergency room with a sore throat. However, I do not think that we have any single condition over which we obsess more than all others, as Sontag said we would. Perhaps it is simply falling ill in any form that we have come to fear the most.
ReplyDeleteI think, like Zach said, that obesity is the disease closest to Sontag’s description of an “illness which becomes identified with evil, and attaches blame to its ‘victims,’” because this disease is seen to be both easily avoidable and easily curable. People fail to recognize that there is a strong genetic predisposition to obesity, and also that it is often accompanied by mental health issues.
ReplyDeleteMany obese people have body types which are genetically bigger than others. And metabolism is largely influenced by genes, so some people may eat as much as others but weigh much more. Also, many people eat as a stress response or because they have low self esteem or depression and are comforted by food. Thus, obesity can be a symptom of another disease or disorder. But obese people are still held responsible for their weight, which doesn’t really make sense. Would you blame a person with arthritis for not being able to walk?
Like with AIDS in the past, obesity can be caused partly due to the lifestyle of the patient, and so people often blame the patient for bringing the disease upon themselves. Also, ignorance about these diseases, AIDS in the past and obesity now, seems to be a qualification for the “disease of the day.”
The relevant diseases that have been asserted thus far all carry the same weight. However, none of them come close to what Sontag describes as an illness “identified with evil.” While obesity and its related issues would come close to the description of attaching blame to its victims, there is no modern disease that seems to be attributed with the “evil” as the plague or cancer in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that each time a new disease hits the media, it becomes that stigmatized disease. As Jenna pointed out, diseases such as the bird flu, SARS, foodborne illness, and others are often exposed to the media, causing panic from the government and the population. Yet, the idea of a bird flu epidemic died out years ago, SARS hasn’t been heard of since the first time it hit the media, and foodborne illness has been so much more common that no one thinks anything of it. In contrast to Sontag, I believe that there is a cycle that diseases circle through. We as a society freak out over these new diseases, but within a short amount of time, the calamity has subsided. In the past, certain disease held that place for a longer period of time. Today, each disease takes its turn as the “worst” disease of our time, but in reality, none of them carry any of the weight that Sontag claims. However, I am interested in the future of these diseases, if any of them can morph into this “stigmatized” disease. According to some sources, by 2010, tumors and cancer will replace cardiovascular disease as the number one killer. Could cancer once again be that stigmatized disease?
I agree with much of what has been said so far. I do not believe that any illness present in our society today carries stigmas the same way they used to. This is not to say that every disease is without any stigmas, it's more that one is far less likely to be shunned for a given illness. This is partly because of the fact that medicine is now a science rather than a religion or belief system. Today far fewer people believe that one has cancer or tuberculosis because god hates the victim. Such illness are better understood now and are seen more as a natural disaster rather than a sign from heaven. For this reason, many of the stigmas surrounding diseases have vanished. However, a few diseases such as obesity (like Zach and Kelly said) and many STDs have a bit of a stigma because they are seen by others as easily avoidable. When people believe that the victim is at fault, either for eating too much or not being safe, that is when stigmas begin to appear. While the stigmas surrounding these conditions are still existent and cause problems for many, they are far fewer and less extensive than ever before.
ReplyDeleteI agree with pretty much everyone else at this point. Obesity has definitely become a huge (no pun intended) part of society and societal values. But, the way obesity is exploited through the media is vastly different from anything in the past. We have weight loss contest shows, "The Biggest Loser" and extremely overweight children being subjugated on trashy shows like Maury etc. We would never even dream of having a reality show about people with cancer, or exploit children with AIDS on talk shows for entertainment. This one difference may exclude it from meeting Sontag's definition, or it may just be because of how our society has evolved over time. We thrive on reality TV and enjoy exploiting other people's, like celebrities, lives through the media.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what Jenna said, I think that animal-related illnesses are part of the stigmatized diseases of society today. Particularly the West Nile Virus epidemic a few years back. Even though it was a short lived plague, it was widespread and portrayed in the media on a regular basis, and could qualify as a stigmatized disease according to Sontag's definition.
I agree with the fact that no single disease carries the weight that Sontag describes in her essays covering TB, cancer, and AIDS. But does that mean we should be expect a new epidemic to unveil itself in the near future?
I would agree with much of what has already been said. I believe that there are certain aspects of many different diseases that are stigmatized depending on the person who has the disease and how it was contracted. Obesity is definitely one where the person is blamed. However, in our society where obesity is becoming more and more prevalent and can even be referred to as an "epidemic," it is difficult to not lay at least some blame on the person. If obesity continues to spread, will people becoming more empathetic or will it become even more stigmatized?
ReplyDeleteI would also agree that STDs are very stigmatized especially among younger people. With the recent statistics that 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STD, these diseases I think have been even more stigmatized. Teenage girls with STDs suffer the consequences of being "sluts" and irresponsible. There is not much focus put on teenage boys with STDs. Along with this, I think that certain groups of people view AIDS with a stigma still. It seems as if AIDS will have a stigma until there is a better way to treat it for all people or a way to cure it.
Another group of diseases that I think still has a stigma is certain types of cancer. I think that lung cancer, mouth cancer, gum cancer, throat cancer and cancers along those lines still have stigmas since they are associated with cigarettes or chew. With the gaining attention that is given to Gardasil to fight HPV which can lead to cervical cancer, more stigma may become attached to this type of cancer because it will be more closely related to an STD. This is completely a conjecture but it seems that anything that is associated with an STD of any kind is generally stigmatized since the person was supposedly not being careful or responsible.
I believe that the reason we associate metaphors with diseases is because we are trying to understand something that is unfamiliar to us. We create an idea in our minds to fill the gap, even if it is not a completely accurate idea, I believe our developments in medicine and technology have greatly eliminated the aura of mystery that previously surrounded diseases and illnesses. Today we have antibiotics, intricate surgery techniques, digital imaging (i.e. MRIs, x-rays, CT scans), and laboratory tests. We know more every day, and this has replaced the lack of understanding surrounding medicine present during the time period in which Sontag was writing.
ReplyDeleteObesity carries some stigma, but it is not immediately life threatening. Obese people can live for years and decades, whereas the time left to live for a cancer or AIDS patient is often measured in months or even days. Additionally, food-borne illnesses may scare us at first, but we are typically well informed thanks to the media. Even when they do sometimes blow things out of proportion, they keep us updated on the situation and how to avoid becoming sick.
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ReplyDeleteI would agree with much that has already been said. Today there is not a disease that is stigmatized to the same degree as cancer or TB were. There is still types of cancer that are "looked down upon". If a person develops lung cancer it is automatically assumed that that person was a smoker. These stereotypes can be harmful and often times are not true. The closest thing to a stigmatized set of diseases are STD's, especially in teenagers. Teenage girls who contract STD's are often viewed as sluts and although teenage boys who contract STD's generally don't get viewed in such a negative light, false stereotypes are still generated. People that have diseases with visible side effects often experience alienation from society. This could include cancer patients losing their hair during chemotherapy or herpes patients with visible outbreaks. As a society we often fear people that have differences whether that be looks or life preferences.
ReplyDeleteI,too, agree with much of what has already been said. Currently, there isn't any single one disease that supports Sontag's idea of a constant presence of stigmatized disease; however, to those who still can not afford proper medicine to control disease like AIDS, it is still a stigmatized disease to them. Far too many people around the world still die regularly of disease's we perceive to be conquered by modern technology and medicine. Disease's that can now be treated and often easily prevented, such as Malaria and AIDS, still kill countless in poorer parts of the world, especially Africa. Simply using a mosquito net or condom can prevent most run ins with both of these diseases, however, poorer people tend not to take these precautions. Something most of us see as being extremely cheap, in this case a mosquito net, is a luxury in many parts of the world. It also would mean changing a long history where people have just accepted sleeping with bugs as a common fact of life. For many, the idea of a mosquito net is not even known. I agree that there is no single disease that is currently along the lines of the stigmas of Cancer and AIDS that Sontag talks about,however, it is important to keep in mind that while many diseases may no longer effect us, they still cast a dark shadow over much of the world.
ReplyDeleteI would tend to agree with most of what has been said as well. There are definitely some diseases that have the public’s attention, although I agree with Kathryn that none of them can really be quite “identified with evil.” They still have stigmas, though they are not quite as strong or as widespread as cancer and AIDS were in their day. Obesity seems to be the disease in the spotlight lately. As with AIDS, this disease is often attributed to the sufferer’s lifestyle and morals. Lung cancer is a close runner-up for most stigmatized disease, in my opinion. Most people tend to believe that if a person has lung cancer, the only reason they have it is because of a lifetime of smoking cigarettes that are known to be harmful. The public seems to have much less sympathy for people with these diseases than those with others because of the fairly widespread view that it is their own fault. I must assert again, however, that neither of these reaches the level of stigmatization of AIDS, and I disagree with Sontag that there must always be a disease which the public identifies with evil.
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