The Sick persons Stigma in Sports nowadays

Résumé

The cultural prejudice & discriminations into sports are common. Different authors explain the importance of stigmatization process. A negative label can affect each participation in sport. Here we analyze the place of diseases & illness situations in sports. Two inquiries underline these phenomena: the first about AIDS’s sportsmen or sportswomen, the second on skin diseases or epidermis affections. These two types of diseases are  opposite: on one hand a relatively rare affection in Europe coupled with a high level of mediates of AIDS epidemics, on the other hand more common skin affection but less “mediatized.” The first results are proposed: to be HIV infected is always difficult & underground in France, suffering of skin inflammations is common but nevertheless rarely these affections are exposed in public’s spheres. Three sources are used: sportsmen’ interviews, discourses on Internet forum and interviews with medical practitioners, specialized or not in sports. The social process of pollution & of hygienic are combined. Fear is often present into discourses of these three types of population. The human interactions seem to be limited but also to be boosted by disease.