Sociology
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Sociology
Part A
Option 1
Same-sex marriages were once a deviant behavior but accepted in societies and accepted in 29 countries. Same-sex marriages were taboo and were considered abnormal behavior among many communities. The cultures were rooted in religion, and their norms conform to their religion. They argue from the biblical point of view that same sex marriage did not result in the birth of a child, which in the societies were considered the essence of marriage (Goode, 2015). Same-sex marriages were considered to be against society’s norms, would destroy the traditional marriages, and therefore were deviant. The consequence of the people who engaged in same sex marriages was that they were put to death. The punishment is based on the biblical story of Sodom, and this validates that anyone involved in same-sex marriages were to be punished by death without any discrimination.
Additionally, the social desires involved the traits that were learned by socialization from society, specifically from religion. The people learned to express their sexuality from the community, which involved taking over and passing the norms, customs, and ideologies. The societies held on to the traditional marriages that involved the union of a man and a woman, and the marriage was meant for procreation. This norm was passed on from one generation, and therefore the same-sex marriage was against society’s customs. More, same-sex marriages were also unacceptable because they would bring immorality and harm traditional marriages since many people might get encouraged to engage in it (Clinard & Meier, 2015). Therefore, it was not tolerated due to the disruption it would bring into marriage’s typical ways.
Labeling theory states that misfit people only become abnormal when a deviant label is applied to them. This is because the people embrace the label by displaying the traits, actions, and attitudes associated with the strange label. These behaviors, activities, and attitudes related to the deviant label are against a particular society (Becker, 2018). Same-sex marriages were against society’s social norms as traditional marriages were only acceptable in society. The people, therefore, were not supposed to display the traits that conform to same-sex marriages. Hence, same-sex behavior was labeled as deviant, and anyone that adopted this trait was considered an abnormal individual.
Part B
Question 1
According to the author, the current criminal justice system serves to protect wealthy people. This is because wealthy people have a chance to continue committing harm and accumulate wealth. At the same time, they go unpunished and, on the other hand, focuses on street crime and the poor minority criminals (Reiman, & Leighton, 2015). According to Reiman, this is a failure of the criminal justice system as they should protect society and achieve justice, and therefore this failure contributes to injustice.
Question 2
The current criminal justice is costly and inefficient since it does not function in the way it is supposed to do. This is because the criminal justice system has created economic inequality by being severe on the poor criminals and failing to protect the people from the predatory economic activities. Additionally, well-off people are not punished, and this causes an increase in crime.
Question 3
The wealthy and the powerful people are beneficiaries of the current criminal justice system. This is because the laws are made to favor their interest rather than society as a whole. This is because influential people continue to commit harm and amass wealth. At the same time, they go unpunished, and instead, the criminal justice system emphasis is on street crime and poor minority criminals.
Question 4
Pyrrhic defeat theory gives the criminal justice system’s perspectives that it has failed in its function by failing to reduce crime in society. Instead, the wealthy and the powerful have the authority to transform the system, and so they benefit from the way it currently works. This theory states that the purpose of criminal justice gives crime a specific image, and thus the opposite of the expectation of how it is supposed to work.
Question 5
The author means that the criminal justice system is a mirror in which the society as a whole can observe the darker outlines of its face. This is because the criminal justice system’s goal is not to eliminate the crime and not to achieve justice. However, it illustrates the threat of crime in America and that this threat is from the poor people or the people from the streets.
Part B
Question 1
According to Conrad and Schneider, medicalization refers to how the human conditions and the traits are defined in medical terms as either an illness or a disorder. Madness, homosexuality, opiate addiction, learning disabilities in kids, eating problems, alcoholism, and hyperactivity are examples of medicalized deviance given by Conrad and Schneider.
Question 2
The author refers to the importance of medicine in the medicalization of deviance. This is because medicalization refers to how the human conditions and the behaviors are explained in medical terms, which is normal and illness or a disorder.
Question 3
Medical control refers to the approval of the medical view as the primary explanation of specific occurrences. Medical interventions control deviance in numerous ways. This is because the deviant problems related to the body functioning medical technology give effectiveness such as immunization, contraception, and anti-bacterial drugs. Medical control that helps in deviation also includes medical advice, counsel, and information on the deviant behaviors (Conrad, & Schneider, 2010). For instance, the knowledge that smoking cancer causes cancer helps to stop people from smoking.
Question 4
Biological, sociological, and psychological institutions that gave the meaning of deviance from the text. First, the sociological explanation of deviance is that it is an action or a trait against the social norms that include the rule that is passed and the informal violation of the social norms. The psychological definition of deviance is that any behavior diverges considerably from what people consider suitable. From the biological point of view, the deviant behavior and crime is a form of a disease whose cause is certain pathological factors and that people were born criminals. Additionally, the criminals, according to biological explanation, are different biological as compared to the public.
Question 5
When deviance is regarded as bad, society is responsible. This is because bad deviance is considered a crime, and crime is part of the culture. The deterrence is the best method of dealing with this type of deviance, which involves giving a negative consequence to a deviant person. This is an effective method since it would discourage them from engaging in deviant action. For the deviance that is considered to be sickness, the medical personnel should be responsible. This is because of the transformation that alcohol intoxication should be viewed as a sickness rather than a sin or a crime.
Question 6
The concept of medicine has a significant influence, and the studies prove that the medicalization has enhanced achievements through the efforts to make distress a medical problem. For instance, Conrad’s argument that medicalization is a process by which a particular condition turns into a medical condition that needs treatment.
References
Becker, H. S. (2018). Labeling theory reconsidered 1. In Deviance and social control (pp. 41-66). Routledge.
Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2015). Sociology of deviant behavior. Nelson Education.
Conrad, P., & Schneider, J. W. (2010). Deviance and medicalization: From badness to sickness. Temple University Press.
Goode, E. (2015). Deviant behavior. Routledge.
Reiman, J., & Leighton, P. (2015). Rich get richer, and the poor get prison, the (subscription): Ideology, class, and criminal justice. Routledge.