Deviance and Social Control: An Introduction to Sociological Concepts, Lecture notes of Sociology

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Deviance and Social Control

Chapter 2

Be sure you understand what you are reading as you

progress through the course. It will make studying for

quizzes easier.

Diversity and Deviance

Before we get started on this material, let’s do what the authors suggest in the beginning of the chapter. Write down your first five answers to this: “When I say DEVIANT , you think…?” How many of your answers are related to crime or illegality? How many were behaviors? Were any categories, such as people with disabilities? Now take some time (but not too long…the course ends on August 12) to reflect on why these were your first five responses. If you have been reading, then you already have some insight to that.

Strict Conformity: deviant or not?

This chapter discusses deviance by examining it among various categories/environments, such as physical deviance, workplace deviance, etc. I am not going to rehash what you have already read. I do, however, want to provide an example of how strict conformity can be considered deviant by the audience (society). Conformity and deviance (for our discussions) are just two sides of a coin. Most of us conform most of the time. But think about times when you do not conform. Why did you violate a norm by nonconformity? We will all have different answers to that question. Let’s break down conformity a little more by going back to a previous part of the course. Because of formal social control, most of us conform as we do not want to be incarcerated or fined. Because of informal social control, most of us conform because we do not want to be ostracized or made fun of. Are there times when nonconformity, though, is not deviant(legally or not)? Yep.

Eh…speed signs are just a suggestion, right?

Think about speed limits. Laws are passed that determine speed limits from interstate highways to neighborhood streets. Going faster than the posted speed limit is illegal, yes. But is it deviant? Let’s look at two scenarios which will help muddy the waters even more.   (^) Justin Bieber is speeding down the interstate (I hear he likes to drive fast…) at 100 mph in a 70 mph zone.  (^) Gordon Ramsay is speeding down the interstate at 80 mph in a 70 mph zone.  (^) Sarah Palin is going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone (it was actually 73 in a 45…her excuse was that Sammy Hagar’s song “I Can’t Drive 55” was playing and it made her go faster…not kidding…GTS).

Forms of deviance presented in text

Your text discusses a few of the common examples of deviant behavior and/or deviant roles. Including:  (^) physical deviance: by visible types, by consequences of exclusion, and by social context. The authors clearly explain these. Pay special attention to variations in deviant definitions depending on the social context. Three examples are discussed: ideal boy types for women, body modification, and demedicalization of self injury.  (^) in pop culture: in films, TV, etc. If you cannot come up with at least a dozen examples of deviance that has been “suggested” by any medium, then you live in a cave. Media is everywhere…billboards, music, TV shows, news, online, books, and numerous other sources. Some pretty good examples are provided in this section of the chapter. But…can you think of at least three other examples? Ask a friend or family member to come up with an example or two. How different are your lists? If they are different, why? *I would have included asking strangers the question, but you shouldn’t talk to strangers. 

Click, click, click…

I am not going to discuss the types of deviant behaviors/roles regarding relationships. These are very straightforward and probably not anything new to you, as these are very well represented in the media. I will add a little to cyberdeviance, though. Know that this is not only one type of behavior. It includes many types: pornography, fraud, hacking, auctions (of people…or people parts…). Since the early 1990s, the personal computer has become a common household device. I actually got all the way through my undergraduate years without a personal computer. Yes-way! Think about how much you would not be exposed to if personal computers – moreso the Internet – did not exist.

Why can’t we all just be the same?

Again, this is an online course, so much of the material is for you to read on your own. So I am leaving it to you to read about subcultural deviance, workplace deviance, and corporate/elite deviance. You will find as you read that some of the general points in these sections I have covered. But, I will restate or state the following to help you out: Remember that one of the main points when studying deviance is that in an undifferentiated society, deviance has no meaning. That is, if there is no variation or diversity in society, then deviance has no meaning…because deviance is “different-ness.” So we find that deviance exists in all known societies, since it is impossible to have a society where everyone shares ALL of the same characteristics. Emile Durkheim, one of the key figures in sociology and criminology, asserts that deviance is “a natural and inevitable part of all societies…it is in fact necessary.” Huh? Yep. See, society is not able to rid itself of deviance because in order to know what is right, we must also know what is wrong.

What kind of nutshell?

In a nutshell, the more stratification (or differentiation) in a society, the more criteria there are to make judgments of deviance; and the more simple society is, the more narrow the structure of deviant status categories. Who judges? Again, one common explanation is POWER – not in terms of physical strength, but in terms of control over the political, economic, and/or social resources. So the people/groups who have power are the ones who are better able to define the standards of deviance. It is your basic conflict assertion: the powerful vs. powerless struggle. Think about it. Can this help explain the differences between the sanctions for white-collar crime and street crime (see section on “street vs. elite deviance”)? Or…the more severe punishment for crack cocaine that powder cocaine? Hmmmm.

Now you…if you want to…

If you want to do a small-scale “experiment” on positive deviance (not required by me) to see if it exists , then do this: Commit random acts of kindness, and take note of the reactions of your audience to your behavior. Now consider the following:

• (^) Why did you choose to do each particular act of kindness?
• (^) How did you feel while doing each act of kindness and why do you think you felt this way?
• (^) How did the recipient – and any others who witnessed the kindness – react?
  • (^) Speculate as to why they reacted the way they did, do you think you would have reacted differently? If you do this, let me know how it turned out.

So, who is deviant?

Again, it depends on who you ask. We are all deviant in some way in some place at some time. Context matters! Culture, context and historical time period must be considered. And remember that deviance is defined through shifts from culture to culture, situation to situation, and one time period to another. *Not reading the chapters, readings, and slides is considered deviant by me (as the power role in this situation) in this time period.