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deviant is more than a label. Whatever the term deviance creates , in general
it is popularly assumed that 'deviants' are individuals ...
... believes that being mentally ill is more than just believing ... a way to categorize
and therefore label them. ... perspectives for the study of deviant behavior, but ...
... been successfully labelled or stigmatized as criminal or deviant, the label ... is normally
seen as a characteristic of more importance than all other ...
... They are more susceptible to disease and death than those of normal weight. Obesity
can be considered deviant due to its societal reaction. ...
... They are more susceptible to disease and death than those of normal weight. Obesity
can be considered deviant due to its societal reaction. ...
Submitted by kirra on September 14, 2005
Category: Social Issues
Words: 5018 | Pages: 21
Views: 298
Popularity Rank: 32,402
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Whatever the term deviance creates , in general it is popularly assumed that 'deviants' are individuals who are somehow less capable, less socially responsible, less adjusted, and consequently less useful to society than their more fortunate, upright and 'normal' fellows ( Social Deviance in Australia, p 4). In the case of Aboriginal drinking, alcohol is the main source of criminalisation and incarceration. This public labelling gives the individual an entirely new status- one which tends to dominate the person's self conception. Once this assumes a 'master status' it becomes the major reference for personal identity and relegates all to other 'normal' characteristics to a subsidiary status. This process insures that characteristics such as sexual preference, comes to intrude upon and influence almost their entire existence. Once identified publicly, (homosexuals), the person is treated differently and expected to behave differently (Study guide p18). The creation of deviance according to Merton is seen as the responsibility of society ( or the law abiding and respectable members of society) and of the official agents of social control ( police, magistrates, social workers, teachers, judges, doctors and psychiatrists) ( Social Deviance in Australia p 5). Merton draws attention to the causal significance of social, economic and cultural factors of all kinds in pushing or pulling certain types of individuals into courses of action which involved rule breaking. Interactionists', however, like Becker are primarily concerned with the role social control plays in the social production of deviance, which may take two main forms- rule making and rule enforcing. As Becker (1963:9) writes: 'social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance... and by applying these rules to particular people and labelling them outsiders. While Quinney states that crime is created. He refers to the social definition of deviance, to the fact that the...
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