Labeling Theory
In today's society people are labeled as deviant for many reasons. We label people deviant because of actions, behaviors, ideas, and personal attributes that society sees as wrong. Once society has labeled a person deviant that label changes how society interacts with the person. That person is seen differently by others and is singled-out and rejected. Once the label of deviant sticks, it is hard for the person to cope with the consequences.
Society labeled Tiger Woods as deviant when it came out that he had been cheating on his wife with many women. Today's society views marriage as a monogamous relationship between two people. Tiger Woods' behavior of cheating on his loyal wife violated this social norm and expectation resulting in a label of deviant. He lost multi-million dollar endorsement deals as a consequence of being labeled deviant. Tiger Woods was an athlete that many people viewed as a role model, after the cheating scandal society's perception of him changed.
Deviant behavior is defined by society; as society changes the label of deviance changes. Today, Tiger Woods has been labeled deviant. But what if society viewed cheating as a norm? Tiger Woods' behaviors would not have been deviant, and he would still have admirers and endorsement deals. Since society views cheating as a deviant behavior, Tiger Woods' will have to live with the consequences of committing the social crime.
I have read your entry well and you defined the label of deviance well. I haven't thought that cheating is one type of social deviant behaviors yet because I think there are lots of cheaters these days though they still are blamed by people. Like you said it is considered as a social deviant norm or behavior. Besides cheating, I think there must be some more and even better examples to describe the lebel of deviance that you could have used in your entry.
ReplyDeleteI think this example, and your explanation of why it constitutes deviance, is fairly solid. But, again, these are intended to be the equivalent of 1.5-2 page papers. Just about any issue can be reasonably addressed in a dictionary definition and paragraph a two-page paper or a book. It's just a matter of the breadth and depth of the treatment. So, while doing a solid job in three short paragraphs can convey that you grasp the material, it falls short of the expectations for the assignment.
ReplyDeleteI think you gave it the definition of deviant behavior and how being labeled and deviant can affect how deviant behavior is viewed and can have negative consequences on a person's life. In order to give your entry more death I think it would be a good idea to look at what causes a person to engage in that type of behavior and how societal norms and cultural values detemine what is acceptable and what is not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above comments, you do a very good job of demonstrating your grasp of the concepts and explaining it in simple terms, but it could use a bit more depth for a stronger post.
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