The sociologists I hang with have long noted the tension between "problem
minimization" (downplaying a problem) and "problem inflation" or "problem
amplification" (the opposite) in the social arenas associated with social
problems. Over the weekend I've been reading and enjoying Suzanne
Poirier's book, _Chicago's War on Syphilis, 1937-1940_ (Urbana and Chicago:
University of Illinois Press, 1995). In the U.S., syphilis was the cause
celebre of the public health movement in the late 1930s. A key divide and
tension between two camps in the anti-syphilis campaign was quite striking:
one side was happy to see the perils and terrors of syphilis "problem
amplified" in order to serve its goal of reinforcing the norm on
abstinence. The other side, however, sought to downplay and normalize
syphilis so that stigma would be eroded and victims of the disease would be
more likely to come in for treatment. The parallels and also the
differences between the current debate over "binge" drinking and the debate
between these two perspectives on syphilis in 1930s might make interesting
grist for enriching the analysis of the binge issue.
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