Essay On Deviance

Deviance refers to "recognized violations of cultural norms." Though the word is easy to define, determining what deviant behavior is not so straightforward. Firstly, deviance is defined by its social context. To define whether a behavior is deviant or not, one must examine the context, what the existing rules are, and how these rules were established. When rules change, behaviors defined as deviant also change. To understand this concept, consider the following scenarios. Eating meat is acceptable to the general public, but to a group of vegans and vegetarians, it is an undesirable behavior. Wearing bikinis might be acceptable at the beach, but in a formal function, it is not.

Secondly, deviance is not an inherent trait of human beings,

Unsurprisingly, it is simple to identify formal deviance as they refer to the violation of formally enacted laws. Crimes are an example of formal deviance-it is easy to spot who the violators are, and the punishment of non-conformity are also easy to put into action as the law already has these codified. Whatever your experiences in life are, whoever your parents are, you will receive the same punishment as another if you fail to follow the law.

Informal deviance refers to violations of informal cultural norms. Some examples of informal deviance include picking one's nose in public, talking while the mouth is full, and in some cultures, public display of

Consider the artist who decides that corporate life has no meaning, or the woman who decides that pink hair and tattoos look good on her. How many times have we heard other adults exclaim, "What a waste!" or "What kind of a woman goes around with pink hair and tattoos, she must be a drug addict!"

But there are other forms of deviance. Do you know of a person who refuses to drink beer or smoke cigarettes, even when everyone else is doing it? You may call that person a goody-goody, and in a way, that person is a deviant. Though that person is upholding the cultural norm of a wholesome lifestyle, he or she is at a point that is so different from other members of the society, he or she can be subjected to sanctions and other forms of informal social control.

In this sense, then, deviance is "based on any kind of difference that is significant enough to provoke some people to react to another as a deviant