Gendered Stigma Management among Young Adult Women Smokers in South Korea

Abstract

Although researchers have examined the health behaviors of stigmatized groups, few studies have focused on the intersection of gender norms, stigmatization, and health outcomes. Korean women underreport their smoking activity due to stigmatization; therefore, their smoking behaviors have not been captured in previous survey-based studies. I conducted 40 in-depth interviews with Korean women smokers to explore the ways these women manage their perceived stigma and how the strategies they employ affect their smoking behaviors and their health. Findings suggest that, through social interactions with different groups of people, the participants experience negative social attitudes toward women’s smoking. As a result, they use both behavioral and discursive strategies to manage their stigma. By adopting these strategies, women smokers “do gender” in ways that affect their smoking behaviors and their health. Ironically, although stigmatization seems to prevent many Korean women from smoking, it ultimately compromises women smokers’ health in less explicit ways.