What
is deviance, that is the question. It is a question that comes with no easy
answer. Who and what is deviant will greatly vary by person and situation. As
presented in class by Professor Williams, the social constructions of deviance
vary by location, time, context, and person (Williams 01/17). Deviance is
generally those who’s most easily observable characteristic, or master status
differs from the accepted social norms of a specific population. It is
generally not hard to realize who are what is considered deviant; one needs
only to observe the world around them. Many of the observed deviant actions
that I have recently observed have occurred on outings with my girlfriend and
take place in location where people commonly gather and interact with each other.
One
of the more interesting things that I observed took place last week when we
were going out to dinner. We went to the Mongolian restaurant close to where we
live. For those unfamiliar with how a Mongolian restaurant works, it is a
buffet setting where you would grab some bowls to fill with raw ingredients
that in the end are cooked in front of everyone on a large grill. The norm that
I noticed was that everyone was always taking at least two bowls to fill with
ingredients, just as I had done on my first time that night. I went back to get
some more food, but this time only filled one bowl with ingredients. It seems
ridiculous, but I was getting some funny looks from some of the others filling
their bowls. They were not aware that I was coming back for some additional
food so filling only one bowl seemed out of place. This just goes to show how
little a thing can be to be deviant. Another thing that I noticed about
deviance occurred in another restaurant.
This
happened today when we went out to lunch at a 1950’s themed dinner. What was
observable made it easy to notice what was missing. In the section of the
restaurant that we were eating in they had the covers and pictures from 40’s
and 50’s magazines up on the wall. In these photos everyone was young,
beautiful, and white. This comes as no surprise when taking into account these
magazines were from a time when many places were still segregated. This goes to
show that what is deviant can vary by time. Today it would not seem out of
place for a person of color to be on the cover of Time or some other popular
magazine. Although, race is still a real issue in society today, such as seen
in how people reacted differently to a group of white and black kids doing the
same actions.
 |
| Taken from http://www.partselect.com/JustForFun/Top-Vintage-Christmas-Ads.aspx |
An
action that has seemed not to vary much overtime was also observable today; I
also personally see this as deviant. We both went to see the new Sherlock
Holmes movie. While there we were sitting close to a group of teenage girls.
They were rather loud during the previews and we were worried that they would
continue to be loud during the movie. This is even with it being shown at the
beginning of movies that it is wrong to be disruptive during the movie. They
ended up not being disruptive during the actually movie, but it goes to show
that everyone can make rush decisions that can be proven wrong.
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| Taken from http://animatedtv.about.com/od/artpictures/ig/-South-Park--Pictures/Terrance-and-Phillip.htm |
The
final deviant act actually occurred while writing this blog entry. While
writing this Braniff Production’s South Park has been on in the background. The
episode that was on was all about differences between the sexes and a bodily
function.(The Wiki
article about the mentioned episode) What I was noticing as being one the
most obviously deviant act in the show is being a Canadian character. They are
animated very differently and many jokes are made at their extent. This just
goes to show that deviance can greatly vary by context.
There
is no universal answer for what is deviant. For some of the smaller issues, that
were largely the ones addressed in this blog, it really varies from one act to
another. The easiest way to know what is deviant largely comes from what is
observed in the media and what ones peers have socialized through sanctions.
Works Cited
- Notes from class 01/17/2012
- First Photo: http://www.partselect.com/JustForFun/Top-Vintage-Christmas-Ads.aspx
- Second Photo: http://animatedtv.about.com/od/artpictures/ig/-South-Park--Pictures/Terrance-and-Phillip.htm
Word Count: 708
Matt,
ReplyDeleteAgree/Awesome
Your experience in the restaurant is a perfect example of the social climate in the era the memorabilia was depicting. In Outsiders – Defining Deviance, Becker states, “it is harder in practice than it appears to be in theory to specify what is functional and what is dysfunctional for a society or social group” (Becker, 5). Becker illustrates that throughout the country in the time period you are describing there was a large segment of dominant (white) society that viewed integration of minority races into mainstream entertainment, marketing, and even every-day life to be completely dysfunctional. Thankfully, our nation has moved beyond this overt oppression, though I believe we still live in a society of covert discrimination. I believe your awareness of this fact is encouraging, and hope our generation will be catalysts in furthering the advancement of historically oppressed peoples within our society.
Stephen Hunter
Works Cited:
Howard Becker. “Outsiders – Defining Deviance”. The Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. 1963, 1-18.
Agree/Awesome
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was clear, concise and flowed well, making it easy to understand. What interested me particularly were your comments on South Park’s references and depictions of Canadians. I am personally a fan of the show, and although I know it to be obscene and often controversial I had never really thought of their depictions of Canadians to be prejudice, until you put it into context. Mostly because the show’s views on such things are usually overtly expressed but the difference in Canadian animations in the show is subtle. Howard Becker’s thoughts on deviance as a social construction of groups, and more importantly the ability of one group to impose their ideals of deviance on others do to their privilege and power lends credibility to your stance, particularly in the instance of the “50’s” themed diner. Obviously in the 1950’s the “whites” had a substantial advantage in privilege which was used to impose their ideals on the rest of society, it is arguable that they still do today.
Howard Becker. “Outsiders – Defining Deviance.”
Agree/Awesome
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog post was great. It showed not only the varying degrees of deviance but also the "inconsistencies" that come with trying to define it. I thought your best example was the 50's restaurant; it showed how greatly deviance can vary through out time as people and ideas change. In control theory it is believed that "...the existence of a common value system within the society or group whose norms are being violated. If the deviant is committed to a value system different from that of conventional society, there is, within the context of this theory, nothing to explain." (Control Theory, Travis Hirschi) Once society changes, ideas and beliefs begin to change, and I believe, thus, the definition of who is a deviant also changes.