Blog assignment #7, Deviance

-Deviance: behavior that does not conform to basic cultural norms and expectations, and its relationship to these questions of self and identity. (Page 191, Experience sociology)

-Deviance is the act of rebellion against set of rules and expected behavior established by a certain society. Deviance is defined in many different ways. It depended on the norms of the society, and the religion. Individuals become deviant when people label their actions as deviance. Deviance has many meanings to unconformity on a cultural norm. It depends on that the state of society, and its religion.

Prostitution is a profession that has existed since the beginning of society. Prostitution is viewed as a sleazy way of making money; the United States outlaws this profession, because it degrades females. Yet it is legal and accepted in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Residents in Nevada view prostitution, as any other job.

An example of deviant behavior in my community would be the teen youth wearing baggy attire. Baggy attire is related to gangs, which in turn makes a person view teens that wear baggy attire to be a troublemaker. As a result it puts a stigma on the teen. This causes the teen to accept it.  and then becomes a deviant individual.

Another example of deviance in my everyday life is when I was in high school and I had a bunch of friends whom smoked, skip class and got into fights all the time. I did not follow the bad things they were doing but my family was telling me all the time that I will end up in the streets without a high school Diploma and doing drugs. For a second all these words got in my mind putting a stigma on me. And I was starting to believed that my future will be what they said; it was affecting me in so many ways. But later on I realized that the people around me were labeling my actions as deviant when they were not and the worst thing is that I started to believe it.

A person does not need to act in a deviant manner in order to be considered deviant. Sometimes people are considered deviant because of a trait or characteristics they possess. Punishing people for deviant reminds people what is expected of them and what will happen if they do not conform to society’s norms.

*Rules are created and broken by people who have strong social powers, and ties.