Anne-Marie Louissaint

Deviant is one who does openly What others do secretly

** The above images represent how deviance is problematic, yet essential and intrinsic to any conception of Social Order.

Deviance is problematic because it disrupts; but it is also essential because it defines the confines of our shared reality; and it is intrinsic to a conception of order in that defining what is real and expected, defining what is acceptable, and defining who we are always is done in opposition to what is unreal, unexpected, unacceptable, and who we are not ("We defines They"). If we can accept the reality of change, then designations of deviance are crucial in locating the shifting boundaries of our socially structured reality. Deviance examines cultural norms, how they change over time, how they are enforced, and what happens to individuals and societies when norms are broken. Deviance and social norms vary among societies, communities, and times, and often sociologists are interested in why these differences exist and how these differences impact the individuals and groups in those areas.

For example if an adolescent changes schools and his new peer group smokes marijuana, the new student is more likely to smoke marijuana. On the other hand, if a student moves to a new school where no one smokes marijuana, he is less likely to take up the habit?

Simply put my approach to deviance is complex, is an often ambiguous, social phenomenon that raises numerous questions about how a varied and often arbitrary set of characteristics can be used to name the same idea. Certain theories provide a framework for examining how religion, societal norms, power relations, and personal values and beliefs are often used to determine which personal characteristics and behaviors are labeled deviant and, by default, which individuals, groups, or behaviors are sanctioned in societies. To make the matter of deviance even more complex, some sociologists point out that norm violations are not necessarily detrimental for society. In fact, they argue that these violations serve beneficial purposes, such as clarifying moral boundaries, promoting social unity, and encouraging societies the change so that they can address newly emerging problems Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality (Sandstrom et al., 2006). The application of those definitions has a direct impact on areas of social life,

including the mental health profession, systems of deterrence, the judicial system, and the arts. Who do we medicate, educate, incarcerate. The societal reaction to deviant behavior suggests that social groups actually create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. For example people who are released from prison often find that the dominant society does not welcome them back with open arms and they often drift toward other ex-convicts to attain a sense of belonging and purpose, thereby forming a subculture. This deviant subculture helps to explain why rates of recidivism, or repeated offenses by convicted criminals, are so high. The exconvict subculture sanctions and encourages further acts of deviance. (the revolving door system!). To take this even further I think conformity can be deviance and to be deviant can be seen as conforming. Conformity simply means to not stray from social expectations, while deviance means to stray from social expectations. Depending on the circumstance, or someones point of view (who do we medicate, educate, incarcerate) either condition can be highly positive or negative. For example, conforming to laws that make murder, rape and theft illegal would seem highly functional. On the other hand, in the name of being law-abiding citizens, people have permitted the slaughter of Jews in Nazi Germany, or Christians in ancient Rome. Deviant behavior, we may say, is "any behavior considered deviant by public consensus, which may range from the maximum to the minimum." So defined, deviant behavior shouldn't be defined as a separate thing that is clearly and absolutely distinguishable from conforming behavior. Instead, deviance should be viewed as an act located somewhere on range from total conformity at one extreme to total deviance on the other. Often in movies, the hero is a cop, but sometimes the hero is an 5

outlaw.