The Reconfiguration of Stigma

(Mis)understanding the Covid-19 Infection and Contagion in Rural Central China

Bibliographic Data

ID4564335
AuthorsSiyi Chen (0000-0002-6236-5561, Tsinghua University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume44
Issue4
Pages331-344
Publication date2025-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0145-9740 • E-ISSN: 1545-5882
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01459740.2025.2475927
PMID40050223
OpenAlexW4408175612
LanguageEN
References cited52

Based on an ethnography of a Chinese village, this article examines the re-stigmatization of recovered COVID-19 patients in China's COVID-19 response between 2020 and 2022. I show that distrust in the local government was reactivated in epidemic governance and led to the production of localized knowledge as a proactive response to official knowledge, which prompted stigma driven by health concerns. As the epidemic governance intensified alongside viral mutations, the stigma was reconfigured into a broader threat to livelihoods. This research indicates stigmatization is a complex and nuanced process shaped by the interplay between epidemic governance and local social dynamics

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · China · Control reconfiguration · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Geography · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Psychiatry · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Stigma (botany · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Computer Science · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Medicine · Sex work and related issues · Virology

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