Handling The Stigma Of Handling The Dead

I. RESEARCH QUESTION

How do morticians and funeral directors handle the stigma associated with their work? Hanslin states the focus of Thompson's article as: Who are these "death specialists" who handle dead bodies, and how do they handle the stigma that comes from handling the dead?

II. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

A. Symbolic Interactionism is found in the article on pg 225 when the author discusses that people that work in funeral homes use various symbolic measures to rename or change the outward image of the work they do. On pg 231, one funeral director tells Thompson, "My hands tend to be so cold and clammy. It's just a physical trait of mine, but there's no way that I'm going to shake someone's had and let them walk away thinking how cold it was". Cold hands are a symbol for death. On pg 230, there are various spoof ads tucked away in the desk drawer of one funeral director, meant for inside humor for those in the business. These jokes, while humorous to insiders, are actually truthful, and say something about the lack of reality-conscious discussion that goes on when dealing with their customers. They must use "politically correct" words and concepts so as not to upset the public. Life is a symbol of impending death, yet no one wants to accept it. However, the funeral home workers must do so on a daily basis. On pg 237, a funeral director discusses his many perks, non-necessities of life that his wealth has allowed him to enjoy, thus gaining more respect and prestige through the public eye. Lavish lifestyle is a symbol for hard work and/or intelligence, which both are symbols for respectability. A few of the funeral workers told of their emotional detachment while working on a corpse. A body for them becomes a symbol for emotions to end and work to begin. By naming themselves "professionals", funeral directors are requiring respect for their positions within the occupational realm. Pg 234 states that "Profession is a symbol by occupations seeking to improve or enhance the lay public's conception of that occupation.

B. Phenomenology is used by the author. He discusses generalizations by the public in relation to the personality or demeanor of funeral home workers, such as "cold", "unusual, if not downright weird", "detached" and "death-tainted" (pg 226). One funeral director refused to call himself an undertaker, because he thought it sounded so morbid. Thompson shows a redefinition of aspects of their work such as "passing on" in place of "death" and "the deceased" instead of "corpse". On pg 232 Thompson discusses how many of the funeral directors he interviewed made sure to ask him "I'm not what you expected, am I?" proving their preoccupation with their image in others' perceptions. Another aspect of the funeral home is sales. Selling caskets is the most profitable part of their businesses. However, the words "sell" or "purchase" are replaced with "service selection" and phrases like "What is peace of mind worth?" Are they saying that those who truly care would buy quality caskets?

C. Realism is found in this article in many places. The idea behind realism is that there is an institution responsible for behavior. I found many examples of such institutions in the article. Work: the funeral directors are being stigmatized for what they do for a living. After all, somebody has to do it. Professionalism: funeral workers, embalmers all turn off emotions and behave like professionals when dealing with the customers or the deceased. Gender: women in the study were less concerned than men about the stereotype, but Thompson says this is because being female set them aside from the stereotype to begin with. Geography: all the funeral homes studied in this article were in the mid-south region of the country, the Bible-belt, might that have an impact? Included in that then, would be Religion. Family: many of the funeral homes are family-owned and operated businesses, these people are socialized into the business of death, and therefore are less taken aback by it.

D. Idealism is a qualitative and individualistic approach to research. In preparation for this article, Thompson did many open-ended interviews. He observed behaviors in settings behind the curtains and out in front of the public's eye. He attempted to better understand the lives of funeral directors and their employees by observing all aspects of their lives, business and personal. He gained understanding of their profit-making schemes and their individual and personal spending habits. He discussed why and in which situations they would lie about their occupations, sugar-coat them or be completely outright. He wanted them to explain to him how it felt to have a good job, support your family, have a little extra, provide a service needed to everyone at some time or another, and yet still be viewed as bizarre at best, repulsive at worst.

E. Exchange Theory Each of the funeral directors made a choice to deal with this stigma before they got into the business. They knew what the public thought of the position and how they thought of death in general. They each decided to suffer those losses, but go into business for their own reasons. The public made a choice to shun people which are in the business of funerals and embalming, although themselves, like everyone they know and love will eventually die and require their services. They make the choice to live as if death is evitable. Exchange Theory is not always a negative choice made. Thompson reports (see e-mail) that funeral directors and workers value life a great deal, and while they do not welcome their own deaths, death is not feared by most. Death is merely an aspect of life. The funeral directors made a choice to confront a commonly frightening topic, and it resulted in their acceptance of that topic.

F. Conflict Theory is evident in this article in the struggle between the public and the funeral directors. The funeral directors undoubtedly wish to freely discuss their careers, be proud of their success and be held to the standards of respectability other business men are held. The public wishes for death to be kept away from their nervous, timid consciousnesses and be dealt with by people who fit a stereotype, so as not to upset the strict ideas of life and death they have so deeply ingrained within their minds. Internal conflict is visible in the article, applicable in the way a mortician views himself as a worker. On pg 230, one mortician wonders to himself if he is