Deviance: Violation Of Cultural Norms

“Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms” (Macionis, page 212). Deviance is required in any society because it is what correct the lifestyle, furthermore changing certain societies or cultures. If someone is deviant, they are going against what is socially acceptable. An example of deviance would be medical experimentation on animals (Quora). This is an example of a deviant act because this is not ethically nor socially correct in the United States. “Social control is the attempt by society to regulate people’s thoughts and behavior” (Macionis, page 212). Propaganda is an example of social control because people try to skew society’s thoughts and behaviors through new and advertisements (Psychiatry). Hitler also used social control
Studies have shown that personalities that typically get lower test scores have a higher crime rate (Macionis, page 213).
Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist created The Durkheim Theory. Durkheim believed that deviance was not only necessary in a society, but it was almost impossible to not have conflict within social norms. (Macionis, page 215). The structural-functional theories of deviance consist of four functions. These four functions explain why it is important to have deviance in a society. The first function is “deviance affirms cultural values and norms” (Macionis, 215). In others words, there is no perfect society. Not everyone is perfect, and when there is good, there is bad as well. Deviance is required to provide a solution for conflict especially when correction is needed throughout people’s values and norms. An example of this may be when a student makes a deviant act. His or her peers will see this student being punished and will be able to determine acceptable and unacceptable behaviors (Study.com). The second function is “responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries” (Macionis, page 215). This explains the difference between wright from wrong (Macionis, page 215). An example of this is a middle school student who cheats on an exam is given a
He believed in a pattern of three ways. “The first is that all norms-especially the law of any society-generally reflect the interest of the rich and powerful. The second is the powerful have the resources to resist deviant labels. The third is the widespread belief that norms and laws are naturally and good masks their political character” (Macionis, page 221). Racial inequality has been a controversial issue for decades. In fact, most hate crimes are committed due to racial issues. “Hate crime is defined as a criminal act against a person or a person’s property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias” (Macionis, page 223). However, a hate crime is not just against race; but can also be against gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and several more identifications (Macionis, page 223). The Feminist theory of deviance and gender supports that women experience prejudice and often discriminated against. Deviance occurs throughout this theory because once a conflict has occurred and people have responded to deviance, moral boundaries would be created. Deviance throughout capitalism is another important factor. In fact, capitalism had four important functions. If someone was to commit a deviant capitalism offense, an example would be selling illegal drugs or stealing credit card information. This is deviant towards the three factors of