From Individual Coping to Collective Action: Stigma Management in Online Communities

Abstract

A primary contribution of this investigation will be to explore how the actions of collectives fighting a stigma impact on cultural and marketplace practices, and, conversely, will illuminate the evaluation of market practices’ impact on stigma-related issues. In addition, this study will shift significantly our theoretical understanding of stigma management from an individual, passive, to a collective, active perspective. This study will also have significant implications for social scientists engaged in stigma related research by addressing the stigma associated with fat, an important source of debate and concern to public policy makers and to legions of consumers who struggle with the emb..