Feminist Theory On Deviance

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Deviance is any behaviour that violates a social norm which then evokes a negative reaction from others in society. Social norms are guidelines for behaviour that have been shaped by many factors in society such as the government, education, family, religion and media. Deviance is a sub-set of norm-breaking and as a result of this, acts of defiance happen quite frequently. There are a wide array of what constitutes as “deviant behaviour” as deviance is divided into two different categories: formal and informal or in other words, criminal and non-criminal. In this essay, I will be explaining a time where I participated in a non-criminal/ informal act of deviance. I will then analyze how the Feminist Theory applies to my situation and what I …show more content…

We were in a tournament, playing our championship game against a very skilled team. This particular game was extremely stressful because my team was losing by two goals and the game was close to finishing. My coach was very tense and anxious, as were the players. It also did not help that the parents were very loud and displaying inappropriate behaviour such as swearing. All these factors contributed to the pressure to win and make my parents, coaches, teammates and myself happy. In the last few minutes of the game, I was becoming frustrated that my team was not scoring any goals, so when one of the opposite team’s players was running close to my net with the ball, I ran up to her and violently tackled her. The player fractured her ankle and was taken off the field and I was given a yellow card by the …show more content…

The referee did not give any warnings or cards to the male players when they performed violent acts against one another. By using a feminist lens, I recognized that the referee was oppressive against me, a female player when I acted violently. The referee’s perspective of gender norms is a product of society’s belief of stereotypes regarding masculinity and femininity. Society has taught us to believe that all men are supposed to be “big, violent and strong”, which ultimately allows them to be violent while playing sports, thus why the referee did not punish them for their actions. Furthermore, society views females as “weak and fragile” and, therefore, cannot be considered as violent or react violently which is unfair. This is also an example of how sports is a patriarchal structure that men control to dominate. In this case, the referee who is a male, who has the most control and power in a soccer game, gives the male players more privileged than the women. This is not just a sports problem, but an everyday problem for women. It is a system that will not end until society understands the implications of gender inequality in sports and how it negatively affects women when it comes to their participation, their confidence and competition with others. Females deserve the same opportunities and treatment that men do when it comes to sports. Although I know that

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