Labeling Theory Of Deviance Essay

In society today, deviance can relate to almost anything. There is deviance within social structure, deviance as illness, or even deviance as rational choice. The labeling theory can also have a close connection with deviance. Using deviance and the labeling theory, this paper will show several of the many ways that deviance is present in society today. When talking about deviance, the term collective conscience comes up. Emile Durkheim coined the term as the shared norms, beliefs, and values in a community (Croteau and Hoynes 2013: 191). What one considers normal or right does not stay the same. The time-period or even one’s own society can have an effect on what is considered normal. Certain things that were considered polite or common courtesy in the early 1900’s are rarely practiced now. For instance, the way
women dressed has changed greatly over the last century. Back in the Victorian era, it was common to see most women wearing a corset and dresses that puffed out at the bottom, but now you see all different kind of fashion for women and men. Since what one considers “normal” is always changing, deviance or acts of deviance are always changing as well. The labeling theory has a close connection to deviance.
One simply cannot be a deviant without being labeled “deviant”. A behavior is defined as deviant when it is marked publicly as deviant by those with enough power to enforce that designation (Croteau and Hoynes 2013: 192). Say someone stole something from a convenience store. In order for them to be considered deviant, they would have to be labeled publicly, by a cop for example, as deviant. The cop has enough power to enforce the label of deviant. Deviant labels can have many effects. When people are labeled as deviant, they end up having to deal with stigma, which is the shame that goes with a behavior. The threat of stigmatization can be a powerful form of social control (Croteau and Hoynes 2013: 192). Stigma can have a negative effect on someone, such as being labeled “homeless”. It can keep someone from making the connections with people in order to help them get back to a “normal” way of life. For example when someone is labeled homeless, they are going to be less willing to go to a job interview or even find a friend who can help them, because they have a sense of shame for being
homeless. When looking at the labeling theory and deviance, the structural functionalist theory comes up. Of the big three theories, the structural functionalist theory relates most to deviance and the labeling theory. The structural- functionalist theory focuses on consensus and cooperative interaction in social life, emphasizing how different elements that make up a society’s structure contribute to its overall operation (Croteau and Hoynes 2013: 18). Talcott Parsons argues that any social organization—whether a small group or large and diverse society—must perform several key functions to survive, including teaching group members core community values, integrating members into productive participation in social life, defining and attaining community goals, and adapting to a changing environment (Croteau and Hoynes 2013: 18).