This book calls attention to the impact of stigma experienced by people who use illicit drugs. Stigma is powerful: it can do untold harm to a person and place with longstanding effects. Through an exploration of themes of inequality, power, and feeling 'out of place' in neoliberal times, this collection focuses on how stigma is negotiated, resisted and absorbed by people who use drugs. How does stigma get under the skin? Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and empirical data, this book draws attention to the damaging effects stigma can have on identity, recovery, mental health, desistance from crime, and social inclusion. By connecting drug use, stigma and identity, the authors in this collection share insights into the everyday experiences of people who use drugs and add to debate focused on an agenda for social justice in drug use policy and practice.
Author(s): Michelle Addison, William McGovern Jr., Ruth McGovern
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 288
City: Cham
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Stigma ‘Under the Skin’
Introduction
Navigating Stigma
Criminalisation of Drug Use
Effect of Stigma on Health and Social Capital
Layout of the Collection
Mechanisms of Stigma and Identity Formation
Social Inequality, Health and Crime
Normalisation, Negotiations, and Refusals
Key Questions to Consider and Reflect on as You Read This Collection
References
Intersectional Identities, Stigma and MDMA/Ecstasy Use
Introduction
Negotiating the Specificities of Stigmatised Drug Use
Illegality, Stigma and Identity
‘It’s Not Worth the Risk’: Stigmatising MDMA/Ecstasy Use and Shaming Users in Securitised Leisure Spaces/Times
Vignette 1: ‘He Even Felt Between My Toes!’: Negotiating Leisure Boundaries as a Young Asian Man
Vignette 2: ‘Get the Fucking Medics’: Dealing with Drug-Related Risks in the Face of Festival Securitisation
Stigma, Subcultures and Commercial Dance Music Cultures
Prosocial Pleasures and Processes of Stigmatisation
Conclusion
References
Guilt, Shame, and Getting Passed the Blame: Resisting Stigma Through the Good Mothering Ideal
Introduction
The Process of Stigma
Stigma and Perinatal Substance Use
Research Poetics as Method
Poems on Maternal Identity
Embracing the ‘Good Mother’ Ideal
Struggling with the ‘Good Mother’ Ideal
Transforming the ‘Good Mother’ Ideal
Drug Use, Motherhood, and ‘The System’
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Identity Construction and Stigma in Recovery
Introduction
Stigma and Identity Construction
Research Design
Self-Stigma: ‘We Are the Anti-Christ’
Self-Discovery: ‘Find the Me’
Self-Storying: ‘How Far I’ve Come’
‘Doing’ Normal
Discussion
Conclusion
References
What’s Your Poison? On the Identity Crises Faced by Healthcare Professionals Who (Ab)use Drugs and Alcohol
Introduction
Stretched, Strapped, and Stressed: The Healthcare System Under Pressure
Broken, Bewildered, and Burnt-Out: Healthcare Professionals and Substance (Ab)use
Dissonant, Dissenting, and Double-Voiced: Healthcare Professionals Who (Ab)use Drugs and Alcohol
Conclusion
References
Stigma and the Use of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids by Men in the United Kingdom
Introduction
Access to Primary Health Care and Treatment
Engagement with Harm Reduction Services
The Stigma of Psychoactive Drug Use
Stigma from Within the AAS Population
The Demonisation of People Who Use AAS
The Perceived Stigmatising Effect of Research
Stigma from the Public
Conclusion
References
Navigating Custodial Environments: Novel Psychoactive Substance Users Experiences of Stigma
Introduction
Theorising Stigma in the Context of NPS Use
Methodology
Findings
Custody Staff Perceptions of NPS Users
Pressure Cooker: Resentment from Staff
Mechanisms of Stigmatisation: The Agentic, Rational Actor
Vulnerability of NPS Users
Segregation and Violence
Tougher Measures
Reflections
Conclusion
References
Stigma and Young People Whose Parents Use Substances
Introduction
Parental Substance Use
Defining Stigma
Stigma and Young People Whose Parents Use Substances
Labelling and Stereotypes
Awareness of Parental Substance Use: Not Feeling ‘Normal’
Fear of Being Stigmatised and Experiencing Associative Stigma
Intersectionality, Poverty, and Class
Moving to a Position of Direct Stigmatisation
Coping with Stigma
Awareness of Harms Caused Through Stigma
Conclusion
References
Cultural Competence to Cultural Obsolescence: Drug Use, Stigma and Consumerism
Introduction
Cultural Obsolescence
Cultural Competence
Conclusion
References
‘It’s What Happens Now When People Go for a Drink’: Normalising Non-dependent Recreational Cocaine Use Amongst Over-35s in the UK
Introduction
Background
The Rise in Powder Cocaine Use
Recreational Drug Use Amongst Older Adults
Defining Stigma and Hierarchies of Drug Stigma
Methods
Findings
‘Billy’
‘Yvette and Andy’
Titch
‘Pauline’
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Negotiating “Self-Stigma” and an “Addicted Identity” in Traditional 12-Step Self-Help Groups
Introduction
Public Stigma and Disease
The Social World of Self-Help and Self-Stigmatisation Processes
Variations of “The Addicted Identity” Found in Self-Help Groups
Defenders of the Legacy
Partial Appropriators
Repudiators
Discussion: Reproducing and Resisting Self-Stigma in Self-Help Groups
Conclusions
References
Final Reflections on Stigma and Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
In Whose Interests?
References
Index
