What are the four main perspective on deviance?
The normative perspective
The absolutist perspective
The relativist perspective (social constructionist approach)
Social power perspective (social constructionist approach)
What is the social constructionist approach?
It focuses on how norms are developed and under what circumstance’s and who applies these norms
What is the interactionalist perspective?
Defines deviance as a infraction of some-agreed upon rule and looks at the factors that contributes to the infractions of deviance
What is the absolutist perspective proposed by Anne Hendershott?
Anne Hendershott argues that sociology in the past shared a concept of deviance and willingness to identify the boundaries
Policy makers would firmly communicate boundaries and what acceptable and not acceptable
Globalization has lead to rapid change and anomie. Thus, the Christian man must prevail over the psychological man
Confusion over norms can lead to moral panics. Thus hard principles and moral consensus must be constructed and disseminated. Remoralization is also necessary
We need utilize people’s concept of self imagine and promote morals that will lead to conformity and stability
What did Alasdir MacIntrye argue on behalf of the Absolutist Perspective?
- Argues that culture that is dominated by experts tend to make the rest of the population their victims
- We should use common sense to come up with norms, values, and attitudes
- Unwritten laws and expectations often tells us what is deviant and not deviant
- Medicalization of deviance often frames it as accident and not evil
What is the Relativist Perspective (Labelling Theory)
- Argues that the essence of deviance is not in the act but in the response of the audience
- deviance is constructed by lots of different groups and different perspectives
- deviance is restricted by time, geographical, and historic bounds
What criticisms do Relativists have of Absolutist sociologists?
they argue that absolutist sociologists are wrong because
- they see deviance are a distinct group based on their behaviour
- ignores the audience that generates rules that ends up creating deviance
- no one act is deviant across all times and all places
- a deviant is only the person who has successfully been labelled as such
- definitions of morality, deviance, and what is normal is not universal across time and space
Why are deviants not a homogenous group?
- the rules apply differently to people depending on various factors
- some people who have not broken the law may be labelled deviant: young, innocent black men, lower middle class boys in the criminal justice system
- some people who have been deviant someone mysteriously escapes any apprehension. Blue collar crimes, male in illicit sex
The labelling process Hughes and Becker
Master Status: criminals only have a master identity which is deviant
Self-fulfiling prophecy: if they can not get rid of their master status, they continue to feed into the label of being a deviant
Subordinate status: some status have subordinate to others. A black female doctor will always be treated as a black individual, then a female and then a doctor
What are the criticisms of the relativity perspective?
- not to react can be counterproductive because you have to at a certain point react when something is extremely offensive
- does not explain why the primary deviance occurred in the first place
- highlights the social power perspective
