Sociology
Deviance entails an act or behavior that is against a given society norm. However, what may be labeled as a norm in one society may be labeled as a taboo in another. one example of an act that can be deemed deviant behavior is walking naked in public. When a young man decides to walk naked in public, people may label him as deviant. Therefore, it is A deviant behavior in a society because people see it appropriate to hide one nudity. Society assumes that being naked in public is inappropriate, and it is against their norm. It is considered to cause distress to the public, and it is also a form of sexual harassment.
Most people will assume that when a young man walks naked in public, they are doing harm to the community. There is a possibility that a child may see him and cause a lot of distress. The society also assumes that one should not share their nakedness with the public. In one community, nudity may be considered a norm, but people see it as breaking an informal law in others. Therefore, a young man walking naked in public is considered a deviant behavior because society does not agree with it. Thus, since being naked in public is against a given social norm, the action is labeled as deviant.
Through an interactive perspective, an act is labeled as deviance because of subjective decision making. According to the labeling theory, an action is seen as deviance, depending on who is seeing it. It also argues that when individuals are labeled as deviant, they tend to commit more crimes or act against a social norm. An example is when a person is labeled as an alcoholic for always drinking too much on the weekend. There is a possibility that the individual may start drinking throughout the week since society has labeled him as an alcoholic. The labeling theory also suggests that the amount of deviance in a given society will depend on how one interacts with the powerful individual in a society. An example is when a person walks naked in public. If an individual is an influential person, he will not be labeled the same as someone that is not very powerful.
The labeling theory also shows that positive labeling can lead to an individual exhibiting acts that can be deemed as positive or a norm in society. Therefore, a person may behave in a certain way because society has labeled him in a certain way. I, however, differ from the theory. In some cases, people tend to behave in a different manner from what society labels them to prove them wrong. If an individual is labeled as an alcoholic that cannot function without alcohol in their life. A person may decide to quit drinking to prove to the society that they can do without an act deemed deviant. I agree with the theory that the level action is deemed as deviance depends on how a person interacts with influential people in a society. In a society where marrying two wives are considered a deviance behavior, how one is labeled depends on how they interact with powerful individuals in a society. If a person is influential, people assume that he can take care of two wives; however, if a person is not influential, they are label as deviant.
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