Erving Goffman And W. E. Du Bois Analysis
Recently, a lot of negative light has been shed on the Muslim community due to extremist Islamic groups inflicting terrorism upon various different countries around the world. Extreme groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda commit terrible acts like 9/11, the London bombing, the Paris attacks, and many more. These actions bring hate and prejudice to the peaceful religion of Islam. This racism has brought discrimination to the Muslim community from all over the world. I plan to apply the sociological theories of Erving Goffman and W.E.B. Du bois to better understand the anti-Islamic racism going on around the world and its effects on society. The first Theorist I will talk about will be Erving Goffman. Erving Goffman talked about stigmas, stereotypes,
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and the modification process in his text Total Institutions. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the stigma that is associated with the Muslim community. Goffman defines stigma as a part of a person’s personality or self which is socially discrediting in a particular way. This can be anything dealing with past history, mental illness, or, in the case of this paper, religion. Due to many terrorist groups claiming to be in accordance with the Muslim religion, many Muslims are immediately associated or categorized as: terrorist themselves, people against female equality, western world haters, and many other terrible assumptions that just aren’t true.
The effects of this stigma can be seen in the racism that is present across the world. The Washington post released an article on November 17th, 2015, stating that, according to a recent study done by the Public Religion Research Institute, “The two groups perceived to be facing the most discrimination are Muslims and gay and lesbian people, with seven in ten Americans saying those groups are discriminated against “a lot”.” (Berman, 2015). The American Civil Liberties Union also talked about racism towards Muslims, publishing a fact sheet on discrimination against Muslim women (ACLU, n.a). One of the most distinct ways to identify a Muslim female is if they chose to partake in Hijab, a head scarf worn when they are in public and when in the presence of men who are not part of the immediate family (ACLU, n.a). Women who chose to wear Hijab have been fired from jobs and denied access to public places (ACLU, n.a). Additionally, a study done in 2008 found that 69% of women who wore hijab reported at least one incident of discrimination compared to 29% of women who did not wear a hijab (ACLU, n.a).
One explanation as to why the stigma attached to Muslims produces such negative outcomes can be found from looking at the Stereotype Content Model Goffman talked about in his writing. The Model asses the outcome a stereotype will have based on how warm the stenotype is perceived to be versus how competent a stereotype is. For example, Orphans have high warmth since they are small and cute and have low competence since they are only children, so the public pities them instead of hating them. Muslims, who carry the stigma of being affiliated with terrorists, however are perceived to have low warmth, since terrorists do terrible things, and high competence, since terrorist have been able to pull off terrible acts. The model states that they therefore should be envied, but, I believe that by analyzing the stereotype through warmth and competence, it can also be concluded that the public would be fearful of them and not like them. This is because the combination of low warmth and high tolerance also makes them a threat.
The last part of Goffman’s theory I will use to help analyze islamophobia is the modification process. The modification process is when institutions force individuals to become a part of the system by making people lose all sense of personal identity through making people get rid of personal items, cultural identifications (clothing and language), and the concept and individuality itself (forcing people to lose their names and be referred to as numbers instead). Prisons do this by forcing inmates to completely strip and put on a uniform when they enter prison, getting rid of any clothing that would promote individuality. The argument can be made that countries like France and Belgium are using the modification process by banning the use of the Muslim full face veil and forcing Muslims to become a part of their accepted European culture. The BBC reported that in 2010, the country of France created a law stating that “nobody can wear in a public space clothing intended to conceal the face” and the penalty for doing so can be a 150 euro fine (BBC, 2014). In 2011, Belgium adopted a similar ban. This ban however does not apply to full face motorcycle helmets or masks, leaving room for the argument that the law was specifically targeting Muslims. By making it illegal for Muslim females to wear a full-face veil, it is a way of forcing them to lose a part of their own identity and look the same as everyone else in the country.
This act of discrimination and stripping of identity flows beautifully into W.E.B.
Du Bois’ text The Souls of Black Folk and the idea of double consciousness. In the text, Du Bois defined double consciousness as the concept of being a part of two separate identities that cannot mix. For him this was being Black and American. While he was technically both, the mixing of the two was impossible sine being black at the time meant he was less American then white Americans. With existing laws that ban Muslim religious cloth and statements from presidential candidates like Donald trump advocating for the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” (Donald Trump’s campaign press release, December 7th 2015), it is hard for Muslims not to also feel the same pains and double consciousness Du Bois talked about. Being discriminated against because of religion and not being given the same rights as other citizens forces them to feel as lesser than the rest of the world. The idea of being Muslim AND a citizen of countries like France, Belgium, and the U.S., where racism and islamophobic laws exist, seems to be two separate things and therefore
impossible.
It is important to understand sociological theories like stigmas, the modification process, and double consciousness because, through these theories, one is able to truly see why racism occurs, its negative outcomes, and how to stop it at the root. For example, because a person understands what a stigma is and why certain outcomes come from certain stereotypes (flash back to the Stereotype Content Model), one can understand the thought process behind the creation of the stigma, it’s lack of credibility, and learn how to change people’s mindset so the stereotype/stigma doesn’t happen. Understanding the Modification Process is important because you can then identify it when you see it, realize the motive behind it, and decide whether you think it is being used justly or not. Finally, it is important to understand double consciousness because you can them somewhat begin to understand the struggle people with this problem undergo and try to come up with ways to get rid of the social structures that force double consciousness to exist (like racist laws, or racism itself).
and the modification process in his text Total Institutions. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the stigma that is associated with the Muslim community. Goffman defines stigma as a part of a person’s personality or self which is socially discrediting in a particular way. This can be anything dealing with past history, mental illness, or, in the case of this paper, religion. Due to many terrorist groups claiming to be in accordance with the Muslim religion, many Muslims are immediately associated or categorized as: terrorist themselves, people against female equality, western world haters, and many other terrible assumptions that just aren’t true.
The effects of this stigma can be seen in the racism that is present across the world. The Washington post released an article on November 17th, 2015, stating that, according to a recent study done by the Public Religion Research Institute, “The two groups perceived to be facing the most discrimination are Muslims and gay and lesbian people, with seven in ten Americans saying those groups are discriminated against “a lot”.” (Berman, 2015). The American Civil Liberties Union also talked about racism towards Muslims, publishing a fact sheet on discrimination against Muslim women (ACLU, n.a). One of the most distinct ways to identify a Muslim female is if they chose to partake in Hijab, a head scarf worn when they are in public and when in the presence of men who are not part of the immediate family (ACLU, n.a). Women who chose to wear Hijab have been fired from jobs and denied access to public places (ACLU, n.a). Additionally, a study done in 2008 found that 69% of women who wore hijab reported at least one incident of discrimination compared to 29% of women who did not wear a hijab (ACLU, n.a).
One explanation as to why the stigma attached to Muslims produces such negative outcomes can be found from looking at the Stereotype Content Model Goffman talked about in his writing. The Model asses the outcome a stereotype will have based on how warm the stenotype is perceived to be versus how competent a stereotype is. For example, Orphans have high warmth since they are small and cute and have low competence since they are only children, so the public pities them instead of hating them. Muslims, who carry the stigma of being affiliated with terrorists, however are perceived to have low warmth, since terrorists do terrible things, and high competence, since terrorist have been able to pull off terrible acts. The model states that they therefore should be envied, but, I believe that by analyzing the stereotype through warmth and competence, it can also be concluded that the public would be fearful of them and not like them. This is because the combination of low warmth and high tolerance also makes them a threat.
The last part of Goffman’s theory I will use to help analyze islamophobia is the modification process. The modification process is when institutions force individuals to become a part of the system by making people lose all sense of personal identity through making people get rid of personal items, cultural identifications (clothing and language), and the concept and individuality itself (forcing people to lose their names and be referred to as numbers instead). Prisons do this by forcing inmates to completely strip and put on a uniform when they enter prison, getting rid of any clothing that would promote individuality. The argument can be made that countries like France and Belgium are using the modification process by banning the use of the Muslim full face veil and forcing Muslims to become a part of their accepted European culture. The BBC reported that in 2010, the country of France created a law stating that “nobody can wear in a public space clothing intended to conceal the face” and the penalty for doing so can be a 150 euro fine (BBC, 2014). In 2011, Belgium adopted a similar ban. This ban however does not apply to full face motorcycle helmets or masks, leaving room for the argument that the law was specifically targeting Muslims. By making it illegal for Muslim females to wear a full-face veil, it is a way of forcing them to lose a part of their own identity and look the same as everyone else in the country.
This act of discrimination and stripping of identity flows beautifully into W.E.B.
Du Bois’ text The Souls of Black Folk and the idea of double consciousness. In the text, Du Bois defined double consciousness as the concept of being a part of two separate identities that cannot mix. For him this was being Black and American. While he was technically both, the mixing of the two was impossible sine being black at the time meant he was less American then white Americans. With existing laws that ban Muslim religious cloth and statements from presidential candidates like Donald trump advocating for the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” (Donald Trump’s campaign press release, December 7th 2015), it is hard for Muslims not to also feel the same pains and double consciousness Du Bois talked about. Being discriminated against because of religion and not being given the same rights as other citizens forces them to feel as lesser than the rest of the world. The idea of being Muslim AND a citizen of countries like France, Belgium, and the U.S., where racism and islamophobic laws exist, seems to be two separate things and therefore
impossible.
It is important to understand sociological theories like stigmas, the modification process, and double consciousness because, through these theories, one is able to truly see why racism occurs, its negative outcomes, and how to stop it at the root. For example, because a person understands what a stigma is and why certain outcomes come from certain stereotypes (flash back to the Stereotype Content Model), one can understand the thought process behind the creation of the stigma, it’s lack of credibility, and learn how to change people’s mindset so the stereotype/stigma doesn’t happen. Understanding the Modification Process is important because you can then identify it when you see it, realize the motive behind it, and decide whether you think it is being used justly or not. Finally, it is important to understand double consciousness because you can them somewhat begin to understand the struggle people with this problem undergo and try to come up with ways to get rid of the social structures that force double consciousness to exist (like racist laws, or racism itself).