The Construction of Deviance:
This essay will explore the concept of deviance as a social construct, and how it has been used to justify the subjugation of certain communities. It will also show that the construction of deviant bodies, bodies that do not fit the mold of the normative body (white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual, ‘properly gendered’), is maintained and shaped by other categories of social identity such as race, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, class, and nationality.
In “Invention of Race”, by Dorothy Roberts, it is shared that race is not a biological category but it is a sociopolitical category, and that it was invented to divide humans. Race divided humans into two groups; those who were born to be masters (whites)
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This construction of the black African female body as deviant was used to justify their enslavement for both physical and reproductive labor. The concept of ‘proper female’ embodiment persisted into the post-colonial era.
The post-colonial era, most notably the 1950’s, is where deviance can be seen to be shaped by the intersecting social categories of race, gender, sexuality, and class. In “Constructing the Good Transsexual”, by Emily Skidmore, ‘proper female’ bodies came to be defined by the norms of white-womanhood, which was constituted on domesticity, respectability, heterosexuality, middle-classness, and whiteness (p.271). Christine Jorgensen, a white transwoman, was seen as an ‘authentic female’ because she embodied the norms of white-womanhood.
Unlike Jorgenson, Charlotte McLeod, another white transwoman of the 1950’s, was not seen as an ‘authentic female’ because she was not of middle-class status, thus failing to embody the norms of white-womanhood (Skidmore, p. 280). It was not until she married a man of middle-class status did she get to “inhabit the public identity of the good transsexual” (p. 281), enjoy the privileges of white-woman hood, and be seen as an ‘authentic
In the 1998 film American History X, Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for brutally murdering two black men who were breaking into his truck. Through his Brother Danny’s narration of a paper he is writing, it is learned that Derek was the leader of a large Neo-Nazi group known as D.O.C., or Disciples of Christ, that committed many acts of racial crime throughout Los Angeles. During his time in prison Derek decides that hate is a waste of time after being violently raped by fellow white supremacists, and his only friend being a black man, who was only in prison for a misunderstanding. After getting out on parole, Derek learns that Danny is headed down the same racist path as him, and decided that he must put a stop to it. Throughout this film there are many examples of the five theories of deviance; Functional, Conflict, Labeling, Broken Windows, and Differential Association. From Derek’s initial exposure to racism, all the way to him deciding to change, all five theories are exemplified through Derek, Danny, their Father, Cameron, or the D.O.C. as a whole.
This essay will critically analyze the various forms of oppression that are set out through Audrey Lorde’s concept of the “mythical norm” as discussed by Barbara Perry. Through the “mythical norm”, it can be seen that oppressions exists through the forms of racism and sexism which are exhibited through many scholarly texts and articles. Racism can be seen as a means of privilege and power that is given to individuals who coincide with the criteria of societies norm. In this case, these individuals consist of white, heterosexual, male beings who unknowingly oppress their racialized counterparts. Oppression can also be seen through the form of sexism. Sexism looks at the injustice and inequality of male dominance over female, which results to men being more privileged and advantaged in society over women who are disadvantaged. Therefore, privilege and power is obtained by those who coincide with the concept of the “mythical norm”, leaving minority groups who do not coincide with this conception oppressed through the forms of racism and sexism.
Gender is socially constructed whereby men and women are explicitly organized and conceptualized by social groups. Women are negatively stereotyped as being ‘feminine’ and are socially stigmatized if they fail to conform to this culturally specific concept of being a woman. On the other hand, men are expected to portray power and assertiveness that has become largely accepted by society as part of a man’s identity. In Mendoza-Denton’s Homegirls (2014), the gang girls demonstrate power in a unique and socially unacceptable fashion. Similarly, African-American drag uses tools of feminine gender performance to demolish the hegemonic masculine gender roles (Barrett, 1998). Furthermore, the use of style shifting across gender demonstrates it’s importance in highlighting gender norms and acquiring power and respect. In the current discussion, I examine the similarities and differences of gender identity between Mendoza-Denton’s Homegirls (2014) and The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader (Meyerhoff & Schleef, 2010) with a focus on femininity, power and style shifting.
Some skeptics such as Audre Lorde: may, argue that the focus of Larsen’s novella focused primarily on the juxtaposition of race and sexual identity of Black feminism in the early twentieth century. However, Larsen makes use of unstable identities that can been seen through the passage via Brian Redfield and John Bellew. The husbands’ envelope the extent of male privilege and contrarily shows their means of working against it. By exploring these men, it offers a more critical view to understanding Clare and Irene
Simone de Beauvoir and Frantz Fanon were both interested in the experiences of marginalized groups, women and black men respectively. In The Second Sex, De Beauvoir discusses the history of domination women have experienced at the hands of the superior group, men. In Black Skin, White Masks, Fanon explains and analyzes the experiences of black men in the wake of colonialism and up to modern times. Both authors not only address the ways in which women and black men are dominated by others, but also the ways in which the oppressed group participates, often unknowingly, in the systems of their own domination. According to De Beauvoir, women participate in their own domination by embracing the benefits given to them by men, by fulfilling expectations
Among any community there is a set of boundaries that must be respected under penalty of being labeled as deviant. Consequently, a community will create agencies of control in order to punish and fight against all the forms of behavior considered as deviant. In his Study in the Sociology of Deviance, Kai T. Erikson defends the point that deviant forms of behavior are a natural and beneficial part of social life. One of his main arguments is that, in our modern society, “the agencies of control often seem to define their job as that of keeping deviance within bounds rather than obliterating it altogether” (Wayward Puritans 24:2). Now, what if society gave to its agencies of control the role of annihilating deviance? What if the set of
In “Intro-How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States,” Joanne Meyerowitz writes about the beginnings of transsexuality. She beings the article by defining cross-gender identification, as “the sense of being the other sex, and the desire to live as the other sex” (Meyerowitz 432), while transsexuality, “being the quest to transform the bodily characteristics of sex via hormones and surgery” (Meyerowitz 432). According to Meyerowitz, transsexuality began in the early 20th century. Experiments on changing sex, began in europe on animals. Then in 1920, on humans. Joanne Meyerowitz writes that “the debate on the visibility and mutability of sex” began after Christine Jorgensen, an american who went to Denmark to get a sex change in 1950, became a media sensation in America. While professionals were figuring this out, people “who identified as transsexuals, transvestites, lesbians, and gay men” (Meyerowitz 433) were having the conversation and creating the language within themselves. This conversation on sex change, occurred alongside the sexual revolution in the 60’s, opening “the movement of the organizing of programs, clinics, conferences, and associations to promote study of and treatment for transsexuals” (Meyerowitz 434).
Queer of color critique is, by definition, intersectional. As opposed to examining domesticity through the lens of a queer person or a person of color, the queer of color critique analyzes the ways that race, gender, and sexuality are built off of each other. Roderick Ferguson’s piece stems off of the presumption that racial non-normativity, or non whiteness and sexual non-normativity,
Faderman takes a decidedly social-constructionist analysis as she examines lesbian life in Twentieth Century America, arguing from the start that its definition has less to do with innate same-sex attraction than with external sociopolitical influences. It is apparent that in the debate between the “essentialist lesbians” and “existentially lesbians” she offers no apologies (and plenty of reasons) in siding with the latter. Not only does she explore how the sub-culture continually responds to external pressures such as conservative politics and institutional biases but deeply analyzes how then the community expands and contracts to its marginalization and oppression. For instance, she describes numerous times (such as the butch/femme role enactment and the demand for a regulated sexual intercourse between women in the 1970’s) when the lesbian community – and corresponding social movement – enacts various border patrolling and internal policing to maintain its strict identity as women to keep the pressure and agents of the patriarchy outside.
Wilton later describes how, by turning away from the heterosexual male-female institution, women are taking a crucial step on the path of liberation. Although a woman may be content having relations with a male, the male’s dominant role in society should be enough persuasion for the former to leave such structured relationship so as to explore a freer partnership that goes against societal expectations.
The Three Main Theories of Deviance and Their Strengths and Weaknesses A functionalist analysis of deviance looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the biological or psychological nature of the individual. Although functionalists agree that social control mechanisms such as the police and the courts are necessary to keep deviance in check, many argue that a certain amount of deviance can contribute to the well-being of society. Durkhiem (1895) believed that: * Crime is an 'integral part of all healthy societies'.
Crenshaw recognises that women of colour experience an ‘intersection’ of racism and sexism. She claims that “contemporary feminist and antiracist discourses have failed to consider intersectional identities such as women of colour” (Crenshaw, 1991, pp 1242). Crenshaw illuminates three specific issues for intersectionality: structural intersectionality; suggesting that a women’s location in the world affects her experience, and therefore any reforms must be different to those of white women (ibid, pp 1245). The second issue is that of political intersectionality; here Crenshaw argues that previous feminist politics has ironically only marginalised “the issue of violence against women of colour."(ibid). The third aspect of intersectionality addresses how women of colour are culturally constructed and unfairly represented within western literature and thought. This aspect is further supported by Spivak who believes language is limited in its representation of social and political inequalities in the contemporary world (Morton, 2003, pp 5). Post colonial feminism looks to represent ethnic minorities who's identities and experience's had been previously ignored, and therefore understands that the oppression these women faced could not be solved by race-only or class-only or gender-only or sexuality-only frameworks.(REF) Intersectionality provides a framework that considers all aspects of
Social deviance is considered a broad term, it tends to describe actions or behaviors that violate society’s “norms.” Norms, in a simple context, are rules by, which members of society are expected to conform to. When it comes to discussing the term deviance, it tends to mean a person’s failure to conform to unspoken rules established by society. Social deviance can have many forms and interpretations. Deviant acts are primarily relative to the setting because deviance in one place could be considered non-deviance in another place. Theft, violence, murder, or any kind of criminal behavior, can be considered either deviant or non-deviant, depending on the context. It's coming up to countries, establishments, and governing bodies to determine, which acts are and aren’t acceptable. An example, could be murdering someone for drugs is not acceptable, but murdering someone in an act of self-defense is. It can be concluded, all acts of deviance are subjected to review and accepted on the condition that it fits what society holds acceptable. Acts of deviance can result in some very positive outcomes.(Why is this here?)
For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.
In this paper I will talk about my delinquency. For my experiment I would challenge the rule of waiting your turn in a line. Waiting in line is a common norm in which you wait in a line so those who got there first would get what they needed before you do. You see lines such as this almost everyday if its waiting in a drive through for fast food, or waiting on hold to talk to someone, or just waiting in line to check out at a store. This social norm is overall a fair way to make sure everyone gets served depending on the order of who got there first. This norm to customers would represent the value of equality. Equality means that everyone should be treated fairly and equally (Williams, 1970). For those who work in service where customers ae lining up it would be the value of efficiency. Efficiency is just the shortest and quickest way to complete a desired goal. In this case the desired goal for the employees is to serve everyone as quickly as possible. The setting I chose to challenge this norm would be at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. To be more precise, I did this by moving ahead of those already in line to get to the end of the line where you could get onto the space mountain roller coaster.