The normal daily routine for a father coming home at the end of a long day’s work is storming through the back door, slamming it shut, screaming obscenities at his wife and family, and secluding himself to his den for the rest of the evening. For this family, this happens daily and if were to not happen would cause concern and questioning. However, for the majority of Americans today this would be seen as hateful, wrong or deviant. Why is this not deviant to this particular family though? Soon you will learn the characteristics of deviance, relevancy of deviance to society, problems arising from deviance, causes of deviance and how deviance has changed throughout the years.
So what, really, is deviance? According to John Macionis in Society: The Basics (2008), deviance is “the recognized violation of cultural norms”. These norms “guide virtually all human activities, [making] … the concept of deviance quite broad” (Macionis, 2008). In America a cultural norm may range from watching television frequently to going shopping every weekend to eating out at restaurants on a regular basis. Not only do norms apply to America as a whole but they also apply to each religion and even to each individual family.
Each country, region, state or province, religion, family, and group of friends may have specific norms to which they abide by regularly. When someone from each of these particular categories acts differently than what is considered normal they are labeled as deviant. Some people are more deviant than others and some can be so deviant on a regular basis that even this has been viewed as a norm.
Through research I have found that some people question the validity of the deviance perspective. These questioners have tried t...
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...riate. Without boundaries and guidelines society can lose direction and guidance for future generations. This would be an unfortunate decline in our ever-advancing society. Make everyone aware of the necessity for boundaries and do not let the progress stop here.
References
Calhoun, T., & Conyers, A. (2006). A sociology of deviance in the new millennium. Sociological Spectrum, 26(6), 529-531.
Horwitz, A. (1981). The medicalization of deviance. Contemporary Sociology, 10(6), 750-752.
Iannone, C. (2002). Standard deviance. National Review, 54(20), 52-54.
Macionis, J. J. (2008). Deviance. (2008). Society the basics. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Vilhjalmsson, R., & Thorlindsson, T. (2002). Central issues in sociology: globalization, stratification, and gender and deviance. Acta Sociologica (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 45(1), 3-6.
Deviance is described as “the recognized violation of cultural norms”(Macionis 238). While deviance can include crime, it is not always such. Deviance can mean trying to sneak into a hospital room, desperately searching for someone like the character of Benny in the movie Benny and Joon. Or it could be preforming on the streets for people to watch. Deviance isn’t always a criminal act. The movie Benny and Joon gave several examples of deviant behavior portrayed by the three main characters, Benny, Joon, and Sam.
What is deviance? What does it mean? What determines a behavior as deviant? Deviance is anything that violates a social norm. For example, when a child burps at the supper table but doesn’t excuse himself. Who we socialize and spend time with will determine what we deem as deviant behavior. There are many types of deviant behaviors, some of these behaviors may not be considered deviant to one culture but to another they are.
Adler, Patricia A., and Adler Peter. Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context, and Interaction. 6th ed. Belmont: Thomas/Wadsworth, 2009.
Goode, E. (2011). Constructionist Perspectives of Deviance. Deviant Behavior (Ninth Edition ed., ). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, Inc..
Before the 1950’s theorists focused on what the difference was between deviants and criminals from “normal” citizens. In the 1950’s researchers were more involved exploring meaning and reasons behind deviant acts. This led to the most dominant question in the field of deviance, “what is the structural and culture factors that lead to deviant behavior?” This question is important when studying deviance because there is no clear answer, everyone sees deviance in different ways, and how deviance is created. Short and Meier states that in the 1960’s there was another shift in focus on the subject of deviance. The focus was what causes deviance, the study of reactions to deviance, and the study of rule breaking and rule making. In the 1960’s society was starting to speak out on what they believed should be a rule and what should not; this movement create chaos in the streets. However, it gave us a glimpse into what makes people become deviant, in the case it was the Vietnam War and the government. Short and Meier also write about the three levels that might help us understand were deviance comes from and how people interact to deviance. The first is the micro level, which emphasizes individual characteristics by biological, psychological, and social sciences. The second level is macrosociological that explains culture and
Much of society mistakenly interchanges the two concepts of crime and deviance, assuming that they are one in the same. "A crime is what the law proclaims it to be, and is an act punishable by law" (Winterdyk 9). Deviance, on the other hand, is a contested concept; it can be defined as differing from a norm or accepted standard of society (dictionary.com). Deviance involves acts that fluctuate from social norms; although such actions can be, they are not necessarily against the law (Winterdyk 9).
Sociologists understand the concept of deviance in a variety of ways. It is the result of unsuccessful socialization, the solutions are usually intended to change the mind of the individual, and that order needs to remain maintained. Norms determine whether something is deviant or normal. So deviance depends on the social status and power of the person, the social context in which the behavior occurs, and the historical place it takes place in. Deviance is all about violating the day to day norms and is usually considered to be wrong, bad, or immoral.
Deviant behavior is sociologically defined as, when someone departs from the “norms”. Most of the time when someone says deviance they think against the law or acting out in a negative behavior. To sociologists it can be both positive and negative. While most crimes are deviant, they are not always. Norms can be classified into two categories, mores and folkways. Mores are informal rules that are not written; when mores are broken, they can have serious punishments and sanctions. Folkways are informal rules that are just expected to be followed, but have no real repercussions.
Societies are founded on various social norms. Norms can best be defined as a set of acceptable attitudes and practices by a given society. These norms however are found to vary from one society or cultural setting o the other. Deviance on the other hand is simply when one does something that goes against the set societal norms. Deviance is gauged on a scale of attitudes and behavior contradicting to acceptable social standards (Samuels, 2012).
Goode, E 2006, 'IS THE DEVIANCE CONCEPT STILL RELEVANT TO SOCIOLOGY?', Sociological Spectrum, 26, 6, pp. 547-558, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 June 2014.
Deviance is the behavior and the standards of expectations of a group or society. It is also behavior that is considered dangerous, threatening or offensive. The people that are deviant are often labeled to be weirdos, oddballs, or creeps. In the United States, people with tattoos, drug addicts, alcoholics, and compulsive gamblers are all considered deviant. Sociologists believe that everybody is deviant from time to time. They believe each person will violate a social norm in certain situations. People are considered deviant if they don't stand for the national anthem at a sports event, dress casually to a fancy restaurant, or skip classes. One category of deviance is Crime. Crime is a violation of norms that have been formally enacted into a law. Another category of deviance is humorous. Deviance is relative, what is deviant in one group or society may not be deviant in another group or society.
In conclusion, once an individual is labelled deviant, the pressure within society to conform to the ‘said norm’ is an ever demanding and increasing pressure. Whilst the intention of the said individual may well be to follow the path of ‘ normal individuals’, once labelled, for whit ever reason it is ever increasingly difficult to return to the ‘normal way of life’ without this shadow overwhelming most.
Deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate socials norms. In turn the concept of deviance is dependent on the social observation and perception. “By it’s very nature, the constructionism through which people define and interpret actions or appearances is always “social.” ”(Henry, 2009 , p. 6) One’s perception of a situation may be completely different from another depending on cultural and social factors. The way someone talks, walks, dresses, and holds themselves are all factors that attribute to how someone perceives another. In some cases what is socially or normally acceptable to one person is deviant in another’s eyes. For this reason there is a lot of gray area involving the topic of deviance because actions and behaviors are so diversely interpreted.
Deviance. (1998). In Robert D. Benford Macmillan Compendium: Social Issues ().New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA. 20 May 2010, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center via Gale:
Deviance is the sociological concept of behavior which violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. Functionalists explain deviance as a common part of human existence, interactionist look at everyday behavior to explain deviance, and conflict theorists argue that people with power define deviance.