Conversation

Aella
@Aella_Girl
Ok i want to tease out a specific thing - there's a phenomenon i wish i had a term for, but it's where "when you place intense social judgment on a thing, this increases the likelihood that the only participation of that thing will be negative." For example, stigma against-
Quote Tweet
Aella
@Aella_Girl
People generally view self harm as a "very bad" thing that they will try to help you stop if they find out you do it. Can someone explain to me why it's bad? If it's done safely, with no lasting damage, and is an effective method of stress relief, why is it so bad?
6
49
Aella
@Aella_Girl
prostitution means that most of the people who go into prostitution have to eschew society's blessing, and people who eschew society's blessing probably already have a lot of other things wrong with them, so we end up with "prostitution = desperate drug addicts." My question is,
3
37
Aella
@Aella_Girl
is this phenomenon at play with self harm? Like, is the intense social stigma against self harm causing a similar association, where the only people who finally go do the self harm end up doing it irresponsibly, unsafely, and out of desperation?
28
Likes
Emilio Silva Schlenker
@e18r_
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Definitely. I think taboos from other cultures can shed some light into this. For example in Egypt women who go to nightclubs are viewed as sinners. So we end up with "going to nightclubs = prostitution".
Giulio Giacomo Cantone
@GGCanto
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
A form of assortative socialisation. I don t remember the exact terminology. Is related to assortative mating, low optionality and survivorship bias, altought not any of these 3. Also, general theory: self harm is the pathological expectation that somebody else will notice it.
the overpoweredginger
@AdmiralOPG
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
yes; people who self-harm aren't in the headspace to safely fill those needs, but since those needs are taboo they can't get the education/support to be safe especially since truly safe self-harm would look like BDSM, which is its own can of taboo worms
Quote Tweet
the overpoweredginger
@AdmiralOPG
Replying to @AdmiralOPG and @Aella_Girl
What you're really thinking of, though, when you say "self-harm done safely as a form is stress relief" is BDSM Since there's a dom/sadist keeping things from getting out of hand (in theory), that allows for the sensations to relieve stress with limited risk
1
Xavier M
@undercoolband
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Also in play: "I am so highstatus and can damage myself and still be sought after" and "I do not agree with (society at large) and mark myself accordingly" and "I look up to edginess in this respect, and wish to embody this" AND "PLEASE notice how I hurt and intervene!!!"
1
Dapper Ninya
@DapperNinya
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
I think there is social stigma, but I feel like self-preservation is what feeds into that. Plus, unlike other painful things like piercings and tattoos, most people don’t like the look of self-harm scars. It’s short-term relief with long-term, and often unwanted, consequences.
1
anonymoose
@madaastronaut
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Well when you say “self harm” do you mean people physically harming themselves because they are depressed or for piercings/tattoos? There are many forms of unstigmatized self harm, but the former is stigmatized for the reason it is done.
1
eq ed
@q_eqed
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Yeah, I guess one acceptable example of self harm is tattoo Is there assumption that the all major problems with prostitution cuz of stigma and it’s no harm by itself?