There are many theories of deviance that sociologist have come up with throughout years to explain why people can be defined as deviant. Far too many to go into too much detail about each one and not bore a person to the point of never wanting to read this blog again. The theories that will be discussed are labeling, conflict, and differential association theory. Yes, only three theories but it is much easier to concentrate and understand three. This way I can go into more detail and give more relevant examples for each theory.
Labeling theory, in my opinion, is the most basic theory and this can apply to many situations of deviance. This comes from an interactionist perspective and their view of deviance is the violation of some agreed upon rule that was made by society. This would be like a folkway, mores or laws that were discussed in the earlier post. By breaking rule a person becomes an “outsider” and in-turn a label is applied to them. Take for instance a person in high school that studies a lot and does not go to sporting events or participate in extracurricular activities. This person enjoys reading and is into comics and may not have that many friends; there best friend might be there parental unit. The label that the person may receive from their peers is “geek” or “nerd”. (“Deviance is not a quality that lies in behavior itself, but in the interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it…” (Adler and Adler page 42). In this example above the person is labeled deviant by its' peers because the people are responding to the act of not following the norm of what the “in-group” might be doing. Another example can be seen in an article titled “Homophobia and Women’s Sport” written by Elaine M. Blinde and Diane E Taub. This article is refereeing to women that play sports being labeled a lesbian. This is because the women are breaking the rule of traditional female roles. To some this is a potential threat and is labeled deviant. Some get trapped in this label and some can escape at times by posing in men’s magazines in a more feminine pose and wearing makeup. When a woman enters a field of work such as politics or business that has been headed by men the woman can be called a “dragon lady or a bitch”. The reason for this is because she is assertive and gets the job done just like a man is supposed to do. This is an example of labeling theory because the women gets stuck in this position of having to prove herself in the position of work she is in and each time this becomes more of a masculine quality. Do you know of anyone that has been in a position where they were labeled but the label failed?
The group that argues that powerful members of society or the “elites” create definitions of human conduct is part of the conflict theory of deviance. Those “laws” or definitions created are then enforced onto the less powerful groups in society, through the criminal justice systems, insuring that the elite’s interests are protected. Deviance is then created because of class struggle and people breaking laws for means to an end. An almost perfect example of this is the documentary “Crips and Bloods: Made in America”. The law enforcement continues to arrest Black men and put them into jail. When these men get out of jail it is difficult for them to get a job, because they have to put that they had committed a crime on any job application. This is a continuing cycle of the issue of no work and crimes developing. The elites/society will say that we did not attribute to this outbreak of crime; it is their fault entirely. Pretty much saying they chose that life style of having to break laws in order to survive. This documentary sums up conflict theory very well and I would recommend it to anyone that has not seen it yet.
A theory that believes that deviance is socially learned through close friends and family is called differential association theory. This is more about the attitudes and behaviors that associate with their circle of family and friends to be either deviant or not deviant. For example if a boy has a close friend that grew up in a good neighborhood, does all the right things, has an education that may exceed others and have a good family unit these boys with grow up to be not deviant. If we turn the good qualities that society accepts and turn them negative such as: coming from a dysfunctional family, not well educated, does the wrong things these boys will more than likely become deviant in the eyes of the general public.
Time for strain theory! There are a variety of strains that a person can encounter in their lifetime and some are more easily solved than others. Some may have lost something good (their job, family/friend, home, significant other leaves them, scholarship, etc.). Another could receive something bad for example: a sexually transmitted disease or infection. There is also the other case of failing to get something they want for instance a promotion, a cure for their disease such as cancer or they may have just failed to succeed at getting the job. All of those are examples of strains. The general idea of the theory according to deviance is: “people engage in deviant behavior, such as crime, because of the strains that the person is experiencing.” (Adler and Adler page 77).
In conclusion multiple theories exist and there is not a right or wrong one; it is just how it may fit into the context of the deviance that is being studied.
