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I Hate Being Stigmatized, It’s Awesome

Samarth Menon

Kanye West has been one of the most prominent figures in pop culture in the 21st century, with his antics quite well known and well covered by the media. His erratic actions made him the center of media attention for quite a while, with his mental health being a topic of speculation for years. Earlier this year, Kanye finally spoke publicly about his mental health issues, talking about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Since then, representation of bipolar disorder and mental health in general by the media and the reception by audiences culturally has come under the scanner.

Since his publicized diagnosis, Kanye has been looked at as a figurehead for bipolar disorder. For his last album, he had the words “I hate being bipolar, It’s awesome” written on the cover as part of the artwork. Kanye’s actions have then become highly scrutinized, with his comments about racism and his political views often becoming the battleground for conversations centering around his mental health disorder. While many associated his comments with his disorder, many people with bipolar disavowed his behavior as standing in for the larger community; all in all, it has forced many to have an uncomfortable conversation about representation of real-life figures suffering from mental health disorders in the media.

It is well known that representation matters when it comes to normalizing these disorders. There has been a big push in TV, movies, music, and art to help humanize and understand mental health for the general population. However, for real-life figures like Kanye, or Kurt Cobain in the past, the pressures of representation are even more important. Kanye was often represented in the media as ‘crazy’ or a ‘lunatic,’ terms which have subsequently led to stigma around such disorders. His political comments after his diagnosis added to this association, clearly leading to even more pointed stigma as his personal behavior became even more tied to bipolar disorder. For many, Kanye’s behavior is now being perceived as the archetype for bipolar disorder. This is something which bipolar people have pushed back against, fighting back against the narrative that bipolar people are ‘racist’ because of their condition or prone to having problematic points of view.

Media representation can be important for people suffering from mental illnesses because it often helps them seek help and form support systems. Negative media attention can lead to people not being able to seek help, and further discrimination as well. Kanye himself spoke out about mental health concerns in the US, and how hard it can be to go through the entire process. This conversation about mental health can be seen as largely positive because coming from a public pop-culture icon, it helps reduce stigma. With the push for this conversation, Kanye has certainly helped many people reevaluate how they look at individuals with disorders, and how they let these diagnoses completely define the identity of the person.

Another complication which he has brought with this public diagnosis is whether or not an individual suffering from a disorder should be burdened with the pressure of being an ideal figurehead for all individuals with the condition. Mental health is a highly personal subject for many people. Should a person like Kanye be forced to stick to a particular image just to make sure he doesn’t bring a bad reputation to the larger bipolar image? It is difficult enough to deal with bipolar disorder, let alone being forced to consider these pressures as well. The media representing these individuals as representatives of the disorder do a disservice to all bipolar people by scrutinizing their every action through the lens of their illness. In a way, they dehumanize these individuals by reducing their entire identity to just the disorder.

Thus, the peculiar case of Kanye has forced many to rethink how representation should work in the media. How can one reduce stigma when representatives of mental illnesses for the media don’t always follow ideal behaviors which the general population should be comfortable with? Projecting Kanye as crazy seems like an easy way out for many, while actually treating him like the complicated figurehead he is seems like exactly the conversation which mental health specialists need to have now. 

References

Stuart, H. (n.d.). Media portrayal of mental illness and its treatments: What effect does it have on people with mental illness? Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16478286

Mental Health Representation Matters. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-real-superheroes/201809/mental-health-representation-matters

Iasimone, A. (2018, June 03). Kanye West Opens Up About Making 'Ye,' Being Diagnosed With a 'Mental Condition'. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8459006/kanye-west-mental-health-ye-album-interview

Fitzgerald, K. (2018, October 19). I'm Bipolar, and I'm Finally Done With Kanye West. Retrieved from https://www.complex.com/music/2018/10/im-bipolar-im-finally-done-with-kanye-west
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