Volume 23, Issue 88 (5-2023)
refahj 2023, 23(88): 379-419 |
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Deh soufiyani A, Khaniki H. (2023). Stigma and media content; Semiotics of radio programs related to homelessness. refahj. 23(88), 379-419. doi:10.32598/refahj.23.88.4256.1
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4154-en.html
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4154-en.html
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Extended abstract
Contribution of authors: All authors contributed to the production of the research.
Funding: The present study has no financial support.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Following the ethics of research: In this article, all rights related to research ethics have been respected.
Full-Text: (607 Views)
Extended abstract
Introduction: Homelessness has been one of the issues that has attracted the attention of many governmental and civil institutions and researchers in the last two decades in Iran.
It seems that society's concerns for the problem of homelessness and not finding a solution to solve it have led to turning to stigma. The violence against the homeless, especially in the behavior of the municipal forces and the police, or its softer form, the criminalization of homelessness, the invisibility of the homeless in everyday life and using terms such as vagabond and drug addict is one of the stigmas whose effects remain with homeless people even after recovery. Meanwhile, the media also play an important role in stigmatization and de-stigmatization with the image they reflect of this group. Associating homelessness with the images of dirt, blackness, garbage, decay, disease, addiction, and marginalization can perpetuate it. In Goffman's (1963) classic review of stigma, he claims that individuals in societies learn to recognize and respond to discrediting signs. Therefore, a person marked with stigma is reduced in our minds from a perfect and normal person to a contaminated and low-value person. Therefore, a person who has stigma is not fully human, and with this assumption, we apply all kinds of discrimination against him. Rachel Smith (2007) in her first article on "Stigma Communication" talks about the process of dehumanizing members of a society, which not only existed in the past, but is still observed in modern societies. Dijker and Koomen (2007) consider stigma to be one of the social responses to deviance and a way of "social control" that does not distinguish between a person and their deviant behavior or temporary circumstances. This leads to the isolation of the individual from communication with other people and society. Danesh et al. (1400) show that in the experience of homeless women, television is a stigmatizing tool that highlights their ugliness and physical deformity, defects, family deficiencies, and addiction, and shows them as unnatural and inhuman beings who should stay away from others. In women's mentality, people's fear of homeless people is the result of TV labeling that presents them as abnormal beings. In their research, Marino and his colleagues (2020) address the relationship between media, stigma, and society to promote social integration and reduce stigma. According to them, radio as a communication medium can act as a therapeutic, educational and social bridge between hospitalized patients and the "society outside".
Method: In this research, our question is, what is the status of stigma (components of stigma messages, management of stigma and types of stigma) in radio programs related to homelessness? And what are the differences and similarities between the programs with the presence of the homeless and the programs with the presence of informants and experts? The analysis of programs was based on semiotic analysis, which is one of the most widely used methods in qualitative research, especially when dealing with media texts. Semiotic analysis, John Fisk's approach was considered. Fisk talks about the three categories of social, technical and ideological codes that are located at the three levels of reality, representation and ideology and create meaning. Six episodes of the radio programs including "Qarare Asemani" (heavenly appointment) of Radio Iran, "Mostanade Ekhtiyariye" (optional document) of Radio Tehran, "Goftogooye ejtemaee" (social dialogue) of Radio Goftogoo, and "Ofoqe Roshan" (bright horizon) of Radio Salamat were analyzed.
Findings: The findings show that both in the programs with the presence of the homeless and in the programs with the presence of informants and experts, addiction and inappropriate appearance are highlighted as a "mark" and addict as a "group labeling" of homelessness. In the programs with the presence of the homeless, the individual factor and mostly a combination of their own and other people's roles are proposed for the "responsibility" of homelessness. But in programs with the presence of informants and experts, a combination of individual, family, social, and structural factors is considered. The stigma of "peril" is very prominent in the programs with the presence of informants and experts, and various types of harm, including crime and theft, the spread of addiction, disease, and identity less children, and the destruction of the spirit of society are attributed to this group. Stigma management in programs with the presence of homeless people is through "self-disclosure" and "masking", while stigma management in programs with the presence of informants and professionals is through two methods of "hiding" and "displacement". In terms of the types of stigma, in the programs with the presence of the homeless, they bring up the experienced stigma of rejection, loneliness, and lack of communication, as well as the internalized stigma along with the felt normative stigma in the form of shame, guilt, and responsibility towards the mother and child. In the programs with the presence of informants and experts, they try to improve the negative image that exists in the context of the felt normative stigma for the homeless and show the relations of the organizations with the homeless people as good and positive. Also, in these programs, the vicarious stigma of addiction, anonymity, and illness is obvious.
Discussion: Despite the fact that programs related to homelessness and especially programs with the presence of informants and experts are usually limited to the cold months of the year, and programs with the presence of homeless people are also broadcast on occasions such as Ramadan, and the issue of homelessness is raised less throughout the year, but the same media coverage helps in presenting a favorable image of homelessness. Also, despite the fact that in radio programs, whether with the presence of the homeless or with the presence of informants and experts, the issues and problems of homelessness are not raised much, and the problem of addiction is mostly highlighted, and the issues related to poverty and the form of residence are not considered, but a space is provided for the homeless to talk about their personal experiences and for organizations to introduce their services and criticize and evaluate each other's services. The differences and similarities that can be seen in these conversations help to fade some stigmas and help people get to know each other more.
Ethical considerations:It seems that society's concerns for the problem of homelessness and not finding a solution to solve it have led to turning to stigma. The violence against the homeless, especially in the behavior of the municipal forces and the police, or its softer form, the criminalization of homelessness, the invisibility of the homeless in everyday life and using terms such as vagabond and drug addict is one of the stigmas whose effects remain with homeless people even after recovery. Meanwhile, the media also play an important role in stigmatization and de-stigmatization with the image they reflect of this group. Associating homelessness with the images of dirt, blackness, garbage, decay, disease, addiction, and marginalization can perpetuate it. In Goffman's (1963) classic review of stigma, he claims that individuals in societies learn to recognize and respond to discrediting signs. Therefore, a person marked with stigma is reduced in our minds from a perfect and normal person to a contaminated and low-value person. Therefore, a person who has stigma is not fully human, and with this assumption, we apply all kinds of discrimination against him. Rachel Smith (2007) in her first article on "Stigma Communication" talks about the process of dehumanizing members of a society, which not only existed in the past, but is still observed in modern societies. Dijker and Koomen (2007) consider stigma to be one of the social responses to deviance and a way of "social control" that does not distinguish between a person and their deviant behavior or temporary circumstances. This leads to the isolation of the individual from communication with other people and society. Danesh et al. (1400) show that in the experience of homeless women, television is a stigmatizing tool that highlights their ugliness and physical deformity, defects, family deficiencies, and addiction, and shows them as unnatural and inhuman beings who should stay away from others. In women's mentality, people's fear of homeless people is the result of TV labeling that presents them as abnormal beings. In their research, Marino and his colleagues (2020) address the relationship between media, stigma, and society to promote social integration and reduce stigma. According to them, radio as a communication medium can act as a therapeutic, educational and social bridge between hospitalized patients and the "society outside".
Method: In this research, our question is, what is the status of stigma (components of stigma messages, management of stigma and types of stigma) in radio programs related to homelessness? And what are the differences and similarities between the programs with the presence of the homeless and the programs with the presence of informants and experts? The analysis of programs was based on semiotic analysis, which is one of the most widely used methods in qualitative research, especially when dealing with media texts. Semiotic analysis, John Fisk's approach was considered. Fisk talks about the three categories of social, technical and ideological codes that are located at the three levels of reality, representation and ideology and create meaning. Six episodes of the radio programs including "Qarare Asemani" (heavenly appointment) of Radio Iran, "Mostanade Ekhtiyariye" (optional document) of Radio Tehran, "Goftogooye ejtemaee" (social dialogue) of Radio Goftogoo, and "Ofoqe Roshan" (bright horizon) of Radio Salamat were analyzed.
Findings: The findings show that both in the programs with the presence of the homeless and in the programs with the presence of informants and experts, addiction and inappropriate appearance are highlighted as a "mark" and addict as a "group labeling" of homelessness. In the programs with the presence of the homeless, the individual factor and mostly a combination of their own and other people's roles are proposed for the "responsibility" of homelessness. But in programs with the presence of informants and experts, a combination of individual, family, social, and structural factors is considered. The stigma of "peril" is very prominent in the programs with the presence of informants and experts, and various types of harm, including crime and theft, the spread of addiction, disease, and identity less children, and the destruction of the spirit of society are attributed to this group. Stigma management in programs with the presence of homeless people is through "self-disclosure" and "masking", while stigma management in programs with the presence of informants and professionals is through two methods of "hiding" and "displacement". In terms of the types of stigma, in the programs with the presence of the homeless, they bring up the experienced stigma of rejection, loneliness, and lack of communication, as well as the internalized stigma along with the felt normative stigma in the form of shame, guilt, and responsibility towards the mother and child. In the programs with the presence of informants and experts, they try to improve the negative image that exists in the context of the felt normative stigma for the homeless and show the relations of the organizations with the homeless people as good and positive. Also, in these programs, the vicarious stigma of addiction, anonymity, and illness is obvious.
Discussion: Despite the fact that programs related to homelessness and especially programs with the presence of informants and experts are usually limited to the cold months of the year, and programs with the presence of homeless people are also broadcast on occasions such as Ramadan, and the issue of homelessness is raised less throughout the year, but the same media coverage helps in presenting a favorable image of homelessness. Also, despite the fact that in radio programs, whether with the presence of the homeless or with the presence of informants and experts, the issues and problems of homelessness are not raised much, and the problem of addiction is mostly highlighted, and the issues related to poverty and the form of residence are not considered, but a space is provided for the homeless to talk about their personal experiences and for organizations to introduce their services and criticize and evaluate each other's services. The differences and similarities that can be seen in these conversations help to fade some stigmas and help people get to know each other more.
Contribution of authors: All authors contributed to the production of the research.
Funding: The present study has no financial support.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Following the ethics of research: In this article, all rights related to research ethics have been respected.
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2022/12/5 | Accepted: 2023/03/7 | Published: 2023/05/9
Received: 2022/12/5 | Accepted: 2023/03/7 | Published: 2023/05/9
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