Stigma
The origin of the word stigma meant a 'tattoo' burned or cut onto the skin of criminals, slaves or traitors to visibly identify them as blemished. They were shunned or avoided in public.
Modern use means an invisible sign of disapproval drawn by 'insiders' to mark off 'outsiders' from inclusion in any group.
Identifying important differences to label stigmatic is a social process. An oversimplification is needed to create a group; black or white, young or old, hetero or homosexual, the sane or mentally ill. Secondly, those differences have changed over time, in the 19th century the size of the forehead indicated a criminal nature.
Members of the labeled group can be disadvantaged of life chances, income, education, mental well-being, health, medical treatment and housing. Some can escape the disadvantages, but the principle is sound when broadly applied.
The use of stigma promotes the 'us and them' mentality. This mentality can label someone less than human and, at the extreme, not human, at all.
Erving Goffman's theory defines stigma an attribute, reputation or behavior socially discrediting someone undesirable, rejected by stereotype.
The stigmatized are those who bear the stigma, normals are those who don't and the wise are among the normal who are accepted by the stigmatized as 'wise' to their condition. The wise special situation has made them priviledged to the secret life, sympathetically 'honorary members' of the stigmatized. Toward the wise, the stigmatized feel no shame nor show self-control, feeling they will be accepted. Goffman notes the wise can be stigmatized for being wise.
There is a positive stigma, you can be too smart or too rich. Because leaders have contributed far above expectation, they are given license to deviate from some behavioral norms.
Wikipedia
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