Labelling groups or individuals is something that happens all over the world. Whether conscious or unconscious, everyone has believed or even used a label whether it is or was about an individual or a group in positive or negative terms. However, does this mean that its ok to label each other, to label a community/group. The question is why do we label, what is the need to place labels on individuals or communities/groups. There are many different types of labels, are they all deviant and the people who are tagged as such are they deviant or just the acts themselves deviant.
Theories:
Deviance is a community/group or an individual that differs from a norm or from the accepted standard of society, basically it means an odd or unacceptable behaviour. “Societies may be seen as layered by norms which guide virtually all human activities, and deviance is the violation of these norms along with the recognition and labelling of such violations. Deviance then involves the recognised violation of cultural norms” (Macionis, 2012). Some sociologists have tried to explain the topic and to move away from a simple resounding of public concerns, was to develop the theory of deviance and crime. The previous concept is a lot broader as it means a behaviour that deviates from or breaks any social rule, whether of politeness; of self-presentation; of property; or of sexual orientation. Every society defines what is deviant and what isn’t, the descriptions of deviance can differ between each
Deviance in sociology is defined as behaviour that violates or goes against the cultural norm –being non-normative (Henslin et al., 2013)
Deviance is an assigned meaning that can vary depending on what social group you are affiliated with. The meaning of deviance can be expressed through several different definitions;
Deviance is defined as the fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behavior. More than ever deviance is portrayed in the media and many television shows we watch today. Deviance causes drama not everyone likes drama in their lives but they sure like to watch it. It sounds bad but who would want to watch a show about boring peoples lives? To be able to watch others lives and see what they do during the day and between closed doors is very interesting, especially when deviance is portrayed.
Deviance is behavior or characteristics that violate important social norms. The difference between how the dictionary defines deviance and how sociologist define deviance is what may be deviant in one place, at one particular time, may not be deviant in another place and time. Basically with times changing something may or may not be tolerated as acceptable behavior.
When thinking of deviance the first thought that comes to mind is someone who would be considered abusive, incapable of following directions or rules, or completely aggressive in nature and is unable to live among society for fear of what he/she may do to themselves or others. Fortunately there are other views and ideas of what deviance means, and it is different in every society. The word deviance even means different things if it is defined under a different perspective such as sociological, biological, or psychological.
“Deviance in sociological context describes actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime) as well as informal violations of social norms.”
The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, and deliberate persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime. It is a word of Greek origin and means “sacrifice by fire” Shortly after Adolf Hitler gained power in the Third Reich, he began to implement horrific measures designed to disempower the German Jews from economic and social positions. Life for the Jews became increasingly worse when the onset of WWII came along in 1939. The Germans began to strip the Jews of their lives, and began deporting (or resettling as the public believed) them to the East to Ghettos and later to concentration and extermination camps. At the camps, the Germans either worked the Jews to death or gassed them in massive gas chambers, then destroyed the evidence by burning the copious amounts of bodies at a time in the colossal crematoriums. During the six years of the War, there were around 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million children that were murdered by the Nazis, and around two million other “undesirables” also exterminated. Hitlers annihilation of the Jews killed one third of the Jewish world population, and two thirds of the European Jewish population.
Deviance-the fact or state of diverging from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behavior.
Sociologists define deviance as a behavior, trait, or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group (153). Deviance can be anything. A certain sociably acceptable act in one culture can be seen as deviant in another culture it does not matter how large or small the act. Sociologist developed three theories to help explain deviance. Sociologists explored the functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism approaches to deviance.
Deviance is defined as anything that goes against the accepted norm, so a deviant act could be anything from an act of vandalism to living in a nudist colony. Living in a nudist colony, while not considered “normal” in our society, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, any act that breaks a law is considered deviant, and a criminal act is typically considered bad. The study of deviance plays an important part in understanding how people act in society.
In sociology, the term deviance refers to all violations of social rules, regardless of their seriousness (Essentials of Sociology 136). Deviance is an individual or organizational behavior that violates societal norms and is usually accompanied by negative reactions from others. According to a sociologist S. Becker, he stated that it is not the act itself that makes an action deviant, but rather how society reacts to it.
Deviance is an act that goes against the social norms such as rules or expectations. It can be something small such as running through the stop signs or it can be something big such as hijacking an airplane. Deciding if the act is deviant or not depends on the context (society, environment, etc.). According to Howard S. Becker, it is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act that, makes something deviant. Deviance is not a word that is used for judging people, but it is used to refer to an act to which people respond negatively. Norms vary among different cultural groups, therefore, one deviant act in one group might not be deviant to another. For example, it will be considered deviant or going against the norm if someone decided to
Female misogyny in the workplace is the phenomenon of intra-gender misogyny amongst women. These negative relationships within the female gender have been found to exist empirically and anecdotally between women on the same level, directed upwards within and organization and directed downwards from management to junior levels or potential employees (Mavin, 2006a; Sheppard & Aquino, 2014; Ely, 1994).
Today, modern movies often portray women as strong, courageous feminists or even the heroine that will eventually help save her people. However, Pretty Woman focuses on how women are viewed as objects in a world dominated by powerful men. The protagonist is viewed as an outcast in society, because she is not rich and poised and because she is a prostitute, until she becomes the epitome of society’s ideal woman - rich, beautiful, and well maintenance, through the help of a well respected businessman, in which she is then embraced by those in the high class society. However, the protagonist refuses to let society’s standards change her dreams and the way she views herself. By depicting that the “ideal woman” is someone who has to rely on men for help and has to have elegance and affluence in order to be well respected or successful in society, Pretty Woman emphasizes that women are only viewed as objects in a dominant male society. Even though the “ideal woman” is someone who
Imagine someone rich or powerful committing crimes without the fear of serving consequences. The crime may include murder, robbery, or stealing. Deviance is a label for an action or behavior that violates social norms. Social norms are rules or expectations which usually guide members of society. Deviance is nonconformity to these norms. Social norms can vary from culture to culture and is defined in numerous ways. Many researchers believe that deviance is a violation of social norms. Some believe deviant behavior is breaking the law or acting in a negative manner. Sociologists use specific words to classify deviant actions from a sociological perspective. There are crimes that are deviant actions and not deviant acts. For example; this