The thing about stigma is that regardless of what is it, it is only stigmatized because it is different. The thing about stigma is that in many cases, its the resistance to change and differences that are perfectly normal. We call stigmatized things that we ourselves don’t understand or cannot relate to, abnormal and unnatural, because of its direct affront to our sphere of influence and identity. But this is really just a lack of empathy. Now, I’ve heard arguments that see empathy as dehumanizing to others, but what empathy is? its feeling as others do. Empathy is understanding the commonality of humanity and is even experienced by our bodies as mirroring mechanisms to visualized pain. It does not take bio-mechanisms to genuinely feel, therefore it doesn’t need acceptance to understand the difference of other people. It takes empathy and the understanding that another’s perspective, ideals and perception is not that of your own. The stigma with stigma, is that by having it, we are stigmatizing ourselves to the idea that we are everyone else, and that our lives are the facades. Flat images, in which everyone else is supposed to conform to. When we ask people why they do certain things or act a certain way, we forget that the same could be asked of us. They could ask it for something that to us seems mundane, but to them it seems remarkably strange and obscure. It is the lack of empathy and understanding that forms the critical requirements of stigma. Regardless of the social construct or idea that the thing considered to be a stigma opposes, in most cases it is an opposition of normality. This status quo that forms our perception of what is normal and what is strange, in itself isn’t an accurate depiction of normal, because do you yourself conform to what’s considered normal? Are you the status quo, or are unique?

Think about this next time you refuse to empathize and understand. Because when judged against the norm, you probably don’t add up either.

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