Conflict Theory And Labeling Theory

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Acting out of the cultural norm has been a means of resistance for centuries now, but especially nowadays it is becoming more of a controversy for those who dismiss it and a necessity of survival for those who practice it. The youths who experienced poverty and hardship (generally male) get stereotyped and unjustifiably stigmatized by agents such as school faculty/staff, law enforcement, and employer. Thus creating an unbreakable cycle of misrecognition and causation of resistance and criminalization. Needless to say in order for the boys to survive they have to participate in various dramaturgical concepts of impression management such as the personal front, and by giving either intentional or unintended expressions. There are various other factors that also influence one’s actions of impression management such as the region, and the backstage. Ronny, a young black man, who tried to break out of the cycle by attempting to get a legitimate job as a waiter at a chain restaurant, but unfortunately had to face the cruel side of stereotypes and stigmas. Ronny acquired his own cultural capital (organic capital) through poverty, hardship and etc. in order for him to survive the turmoil, but his cultural capital is not …show more content…

The conflict theory states that: “…rules are applied unequally and that punishments for rule violators are unequally distributed…” Let’s say if Mike and his friends were dressed in business suites, would the clerk have reacted the same? I strongly doubt it. The labeling theory states that: “… deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or labels, that modify the individual’s self-concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person.” If the clerk would not have said anything about the policy and would not have given the boys a sense of hostility then the boys would have just paid and

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