"Deviance"
What is deviance?
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Deviance is behavior that does not conform to social expectations.
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Deviance violates the rules of a group (custom, law, role, or moral code).
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Deviance is socially created and determined by the majority.
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There are inconsistencies among societies as to what is deviant, and inconsistencies
within a single society in labeling a behavior as deviant.
--"I can’t accept the culture of the Taliban. I disagree with it—to
me it is wrong and inhuman" (student’s journal, Spring 2001).
Perspectives:
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Order theorists: They focus on the deviants themselves and suggest
inadequate socialization as the cause--and rehabilitation so that they
conform to societal norms as the remedy.
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Conflict theorists: They believe the established system is the primary
source of social problems and it, not the individual deviant, must be restructured.
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Participatory/Sustainable Development: This methodology for social
development sides with the radical nonintervention view: that policies
should accommodate society to the widest possible diversity of behaviors
and attitudes.
Labeling Theory:
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This view of deviant behavior stresses the importance of the society in
defining what is illegal and in assigning deviant status to particular
individuals, which in turn dominates their identities and behaviors.
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Who gets labeled as deviant is not just a matter of luck or random selection
but the result of a systematic societal bias against the powerless.
For thought:
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What is behind the shootings in schools perpetrated by students?
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Who is the deviant in war—the person who kills the enemy or the person
who refuses to kill the enemy?