Greta Thunberg and Uncomfortable Deviance - read
- wasn’t following normative structures and violated expectations, especially as a 15 year old. Not necessarily wrong but against the norm
Greta Thunberg helping spark a worldwide climate strike, describing large coordinated protests across many cities, the main demands from students and supporters for faster action on climate change, and the pressure being placed on political and business leaders to treat climate change as an urgent issue.
6.1 What Is Deviance?
- Deviance: A behaviour that strays from what is “______”
– Does not mean bad, criminal, perverted, “sick”, or inferior in any way
– It is different from…
– Is a category that changes with what 3 things
– Definitions of deviance often reflect _____
- Deviance: A behaviour that strays from what is “normal”
– Does not mean bad, criminal, perverted, “sick”, or inferior in any way
– It is different from the norm, the usual.
– Is a category that changes with time, place, and culture.
– Definitions of deviance often reflect power
What Is Deviance?
Characteristics of Deviance:
– ______ characteristics: actions or qualities taken as explicitly violating the cultural norm
– ______ characteristics: the unstated qualities that might make a group a target for sanctions
– examples
– Overt characteristics: actions or qualities taken as explicitly violating the cultural norm
– Covert characteristics: the unstated qualities that might make a group a target for sanctions
– e.g., age, ethnic background, “race” and sexual orientation, sex, and physical and mental ability
Crime Reality vs. Crime Perception - slide 8
“Fact Check”
Left graph (Crime reality):
The “Actual Crime Trend” line goes down a lot from the late 1990s to the late 2010s, meaning the crime severity index is generally decreasing over time
Right graph (Crime perception):
The bar chart shows most people think crime has increased (the biggest bar, around 60%). A smaller group thinks there’s no change (around 25%).
Very few think crime has decreased (around 5%). Some are unsure (around 10%).
Overall message:
Crime has generally gone down, but most people believe it has gone up (could be due to social media, recency bias or fear/uncertainty)
Conflict and Constructed Deviance
Deviance Is Contested
– Definitions vary across what 3 things
– Different groups disagree about…
– Deviance is a social construct, not a…
- Conflict deviance:
→ Disagreement among groups over whether _______ is deviant
– Example
- Deviance Is Contested
– Definitions vary across time, place, and culture
– Different groups disagree about what is deviant
– Deviance is a social construct, not a fixed property - Conflict deviance:
→ Disagreement among groups over whether behaviour is deviant
– Example: marijuana legalization, tattoos
Stigma, Othering & Moral Panic - How Deviance Is Produced
- ______ (Goffman): A discrediting attribute that spoils social identity
– _____ traits (bodily stigma)
– _____ judgments (moral stigma)
– ______ membership (tribal stigma) - ______: Dominant groups define outsiders as inferior or threatening
- _____ _____: Campaigns that amplify fear about a group or issue
*_____ _________: actors who push these definitions
- Stigma (Goffman): A discrediting attribute that spoils social identity
– Physical traits (bodily stigma)
– Character judgments (moral stigma)
– Group membership (tribal stigma) - Othering: Dominant groups define outsiders as inferior or threatening
- Moral Panic: Campaigns that amplify fear about a group or issue
- Moral entrepreneurs: actors who push these definitions
“Race” and Deviance: Racializing Social Control
- Racializing deviance: linking groups to…
- Pressure to ________ to dominant norms
- Non-______ may be labeled deviant
- _____ profiling: visible traits used to predict wrongdoing
- Differential ______ across institutions
- Racializing deviance: linking groups to crime or threat
- Pressure to assimilate to dominant norms
- Non-conformity may be labeled deviant
- Racial profiling: visible traits used to predict wrongdoing
- Differential treatment across institutions
FACT CHECK: Who Gets Stopped by Police? - look at slide 12
Example Toronto findings:
* Black youth report police stops/searches about …. as white youth
After arrest, Black suspects:
– ____% more likely to be taken to station
– _____% more likely to be held overnight
Evidence: _______ police contact documented in Toronto studies
- Black youth report police stops/searches about twice as often as white youth
- After arrest, Black suspects:
– 50% more likely to be taken to station
– 100% more likely to be held overnight
Evidence: Disproportionate police contact documented in Toronto studies
Gender and Deviance: Gendered Social Control
- ______ societies normalize male dominance
- Women may be treated as “_____” or inherently ____
- Gender norms shape what _______ are punished
- Sexual behaviour judged more ______ for women
- _______ have enforced these standards historically
– Example
- Patriarchal societies normalize male dominance
- Women may be treated as “Other” or inherently deviant
- Gender norms shape what behaviours are punished
- Sexual behaviour judged more harshly for women
- Institutions have enforced these standards historically
– Example: Female Refuge Act & Magdalene asylums
FACT CHECK: Workplace Harassment by Gender - look at slide 14
- Women report workplace harassment at ________ higher rates than men
– Most incidents involve people with greater workplace _____ - Harassment often goes unreported due to fear of _____ or ______ harm
- Consequences can include (3)
- Informal _____ regulate behavior even when laws prohibit _____
Key Idea: Gender norms are enforced through everyday interactions, not just ___ ____
- Women report workplace harassment at substantially higher rates than men
– Most incidents involve people with greater workplace power - Harassment often goes unreported due to fear of retaliation or career harm
- Consequences can include job loss, stalled promotion, or withdrawal from the field
- Informal sanctions regulate behavior even when laws prohibit discrimination
Key Idea: Gender norms are enforced through everyday interactions, not just formal rules
Class and Deviance: Poverty as “Deviance”
- Poverty is often treated as a covert marker of deviance
– Behaviours seen as “_____” in the poor may be tolerated among the ______ - Class bias shapes what gets labeled crime
– Focus on what vs what crime
– White-collar crime = offenses by ____-status individuals in their ______ - Structural inequality increases criminalization of the poor
– Fewer _______ resources (legal knowledge, money, connections)
– Limited “______ ______” before authorities - Institutional processes ampligy class disparities
– Schools-to-_____ pipeline
– Over-representation of low-income communities in _______
- Poverty is often treated as a covert marker of deviance
– Behaviours seen as “criminal” in the poor may be tolerated among the wealthy - Class bias shapes what gets labeled crime
– Focus on street crime vs. white-collar crime
– White-collar crime = offenses by high-status individuals in their occupation - Structural inequality increases criminalization of the poor
– Fewer social resources (legal knowledge, money, connections)
– Limited “impression management” before authorities - Institutional processes amplify class disparities
– Schools-to-prison pipeline
– Over-representation of low-income communities in incarceration
FACT CHECK: Incarceration by Income - look at slide 17
- Core idea:
– Poor people are more likely to be ______, not necessarily more ___ - Figure highlights:
– ____ inequality
– ____ system bias
– Schools-to-___ pipeline
– Differential _____
– Ability to afford _____ defense
- Core idea:
– Poor people are more likely to be punished, not necessarily more criminal - Figure highlights:
– Structural inequality
– Justice system bias
– Schools-to-prison pipeline
– Differential surveillance
– Ability to afford legal defense
FACT CHECK: Which Crimes Cause the Most Harm?
Core idea:
* The crimes associated with the poor are more ____ and _____, while elite
crimes often cause greater harm but receive less attention
Classic criminology insight (Sutherland):
* _____ vs harm
* ____ framing
* ___ panic
* Power and ____
* Who gets called “______”
- The crimes associated with the poor are more visible and punished, while elite
crimes often cause greater harm but receive less attention
Classic criminology insight (Sutherland):
* Visibility vs harm
* Media framing
* Moral panic
* Power and labeling
* Who gets called “dangerous”
Sexual Orientation as Deviance: How Societies Construct Homosexuality as Deviant
- Homosexuality has been socially constructed as deviant to varying degrees across ____ and _____ periods.
– Sanctions range from informal ______ disapproval to formal _____ punishment - In some contexts: what 3 things
– In Canada today, sanctions are primarily ______ - e.g., language, stigma, and pressure to conform to gender norms
- Homosexuality has been socially constructed as deviant to varying degrees across societies and historical periods.
– Sanctions range from informal social disapproval to formal legal punishment - In some contexts: imprisonment, corporal punishment, or death
– In Canada today, sanctions are primarily informal - e.g., language, stigma, and pressure to conform to gender norms
(rapid growth since 2001, 38 countries legal but not in 157 countries where same sex marriage is legal)
6.7 Disability and Deviance: To Be Disabled Is Deviant
- People with disabilities often suffer _____ _____ by society not accommodating differences in physical ability
– Punished not by being singled out, but by ______
– examples - People with disabilities have been ______ because of their ____
- e.g., Members of the Deaf community representing surgically
implanted devices in an attempt to be seen as normal
- People with disabilities often suffer negative sanctions by society not accommodating differences in physical ability
– Punished not by being singled out, but by omission
– e.g., revolving doors, restricting sidewalks, public transport - People with disabilities have been targeted because of their difference
- e.g., Members of the Deaf community representing surgically
implanted devices in an attempt to be seen as normal
Disability and Deviance: To Be Disabled Is Deviant
Lennard Davis (not a key figure) and the Politics of the Disabled Body:
* The politics of disability involves promoting respect for difference, as opposed to just respecting the “normal” and treating anything else as….
- The social problem of disability is actually created by those people (typically able-bodied people) who view and treat those with a different set of abilities as “_____” rather than ______ their difference.
- The politics of disability involves promoting respect for difference, as opposed to just respecting the “normal” and treating anything else as a problem to be solved
- The social problem of disability is actually created by those people (typically able-bodied people) who view and treat those with a different set of abilities as “Other” rather than accepting their difference.
Disability and Deviance: To Be Disabled Is Deviant
Henry Goddard and the Eugenics Movement
* The ______ (“good genes”) movement was based on the mistaken beliefs:
- ______ can be measured easily
- _______ is inherited, transferred directly from one generation to the next
- Popular philosophy during the first half of the twentieth century, it led to the so-called “______-_____” sexually sterilized so that they could not reproduce.
- e.g Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act (1928-1972)
Henry Goddard and the Eugenics Movement
* The eugenics (“good genes”) movement was based on the mistaken beliefs:
- Intelligence can be measured easily
- Intelligence is inherited, transferred directly from one generation to the next
- Popular philosophy during the first half of the twentieth century, it led to the so-called “feeble-minded” sexually sterilized so that they could not reproduce.
- e.g Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act (1928-1972)
Fact Check: Disability and Inequality - slide 7
- ______ and ______ increase, ______ decrease when disabled
Full Circle: Who Gets Defined as “Deviant”?
* Deviance is often applied to groups whose differences ______ ______ norms and these labels shape life chances.
– ……(4) illustrate how social categories become linked to stigma, control, and inequality
- Poverty and employment increase, income decrease when disabled (structural barriers for those with disabilities, this shows outcome and not why)
- Deviance is often applied to groups whose differences challenge dominant norms and these labels shape life chances.
– Gender, race, class, sexuality, and disability illustrate how social categories
become linked to stigma, control, and inequality
6.8 Criminal Deviance
* Not all deviant behaviour is ______
- _____: the sociological (and psychological) study of crime in terms of such elements as causation, prevention, management or control, and the statistical patterns of crime
- Not all deviant behaviour is criminal
- Criminology: the sociological (and psychological) study of crime in terms of such elements as causation, prevention, management or control, and the statistical patterns of crime
Theories of Criminal Deviance: Strain Theory
- Robert Merton (1938) explained why some individuals “______” to be criminally deviant
- The American dream: anyone has the opportunity to be successful regardless of their background or circumstances as long…..
- Strain is the _______ between culturally defined goals and _____ distribution of means to achieve those goals (Durkheim’s anomie)
- Those without the necessary resources to achieve culturally defined goals turn to _____ _____
- Robert Merton (1938) explained why some individuals “choose” to be criminally deviant
- The American dream: anyone has the opportunity to be successful regardless of their background or circumstances as long as they work hard
- Strain is the disconnect between culturally defined goals and uneven distribution of means to achieve those goals (Durkheim’s anomie)
- Those without the necessary resources to achieve culturally defined goals turn to criminal deviance
Theories of Criminal Deviance: Subcultural Theory
* Albert Cohen (1955) _____ and ______ some aspects of Merton’s work
* Individuals from lower-class backgrounds experiences _____ frustration:
– Failure to succeed in _____-______ institutions
- Can become socialized into an oppositional subculture, a _____ _____
– Develops values in opposition to ______ society - e.g., non-utilitarian crimes committed for group’s respect
– _______ is a learned behavior
- Albert Cohen (1955) challenged and refined some aspects of Merton’s work
- Individuals from lower-class backgrounds experiences status frustration:
– Failure to succeed in middle-class institutions - Can become socialized into an oppositional subculture, a delinquent subculture
– Develops values in opposition to mainstream society - e.g., non-utilitarian crimes committed for group’s respect
– Delinquency is a learned behavior
Theories of Criminal Deviance: Labelling Theory
- Howard Becker developed ____ ____ to explain
– How ______ values, beliefs, and practices become defined as deviant by mainstream society
– How labels become ________ by both majority and deviant individual or group - Labels may take on a _______ status, a status that dominates all others
– e.g., image of the “Indian drunk”
- Howard Becker developed labelling theory to explain
– How subcultural values, beliefs, and practices become defined as deviant by mainstream society
– How labels become internalized by both majority and deviant individual or group - Labels may take on a master status, a status that dominates all others
– e.g., image of the “Indian drunk”
Theories of Criminal Deviance: Social Control Theory
- For Travis Hirschi, a key factor was _____ ______
- “Delinquent acts result when an individual’s bond to society is _____ or ____” (Hirschi, 1969}
- The “______” encompasses attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
e.g. if a child is bonded with such social institutions as family, religion, athletic teams, and school, then that child is unlikely to engage in delinquent activities and has accepted the positive social values of the institutions and therefore will not commit anti-social acts
- look at slide 15
- For Travis Hirschi, a key factor was social bonding.
- “…delinquent acts result when an individual’s bond to society is weak or broken” (Hirschi, 1969}
- The “bond” encompasses attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief
e.g. if a child is bonded with such social institutions as family, religion, athletic teams, and school, then that child is unlikely to engage in delinquent activities and has accepted the positive social values of the institutions and therefore will not commit anti-social acts
