Stigma as a Core Construct for Biological Anthropology: What It Offers and Why It Matters

Stigma is a term that all biological anthropologists know in passing but likely have not (yet) considered as particularly relevant to their research. The capacity of stigma to control and oppress-with profound biological consequences-cannot be underemphasized. It can completely eliminate an individual's ability to function within society through terrible consequences up to and including "social death," and can be deployed to systematically and effectively marginalize, disenfranchise, and otherwise harm entire groups to the benefit of others. These processes are often insidious and hence highly effective, meaning both identifying and acting against them are very difficult. The goal of this review is to explain why a sophisticated understanding of stigma processes is useful for biological anthropologists. To summarize the argument: stigma is a set of complex processes operating within all human societies. The study of these processes helps us understand and apply wider knowledge about what is both a fundamental cause and consequence of human health and biocultural variation. It also provides analytic frameworks to better understand and interrogate the roles of norms and power in human biology. And with the intentions of using biological anthropology to create a healthier and more equitable world, theorizing, operationalizing, and applying stigma constructs provide a means to reach toward such goals.