Henan Man In The Field - Sociological Interpretation Stigma Region

Usually, Henan People refers to the group that people come from Henan province. Well, now its connotation changes dimly from a conception of district to some cultural aspects. In this article, we discuss how the conception turns to a kind of regional stigma.The reason why I do this research, one is because of its widely influence, the other is from my personal experience. As the central plain of China, Henan has a long history. We believe that the changing of Henan province’s economic, political, cultural status provides the origin reason why Henan people are stigmatized. In the history, Henan used to be the economic, political and cultural center of China, quite a hit in that period. This prosperity sets the scene for its population expansion and resources shortage. With the development of productivity and mode of production, the economic center moved from inland to coastal. The wars, the shortage of resources which were aggravated by natural disaster, lead to a large scale of migration and flow of population in Henan, which make people from Henan being stigmatized possible.The process of Henan’s regional stigma can be decomposed as migrate, contact, being prejudiced, stereotype, being labeled and isolated, and being discriminated. This process has something to do with the conflict of interest during migration and people who apply stigma to others intend to improve self-esteem and make his status reasonable. In the meantime, the mass media constructs the virtual information environment about Henan selectively, and the counter--stigma keep silence also contributes to the spread of stigma.In the end, the negative impacts of stigma on people who bear stigma and the society have been discussed, and some measures which can help to reduce regional stigma should be taken rightly. Like taking some intervening acts, strengthening the education, promoting regional economic development and so on.