Deviance: concepts, theories, and social perspectives

Deviance in Modern Society

Defining Deviance in Society

All human beings are socialized by their respective societies. That means they learn what sorts of behaviors are expected and what kinds of behaviors are considered immoral, unacceptable or inappropriate. Generally, the socialization process teaches all members of the society about the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors are considered "normal" within that society. Not all individuals necessarily adhere to all of those societal norms. In general, individuals have a certain amount of freedom to make choices about their values and beliefs and behaviors that may differ substantially from those within the predominant social culture of their society. Their behavior is considered "deviant" simply because it deviates from the normal expectations shared by most people in their society.

However, the concept of deviance exists in more than one form. There is benign deviance of the type that merely reflects different beliefs, values, and preferences. There is also harmful or malicious deviance and criminal deviance that violates the rights of others and that involves destructive or illegal activities that are prohibited by the laws intended to protect all members of society from inappropriate behavior. In principle, deviance is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself merely because certain choices and behaviors may be different from those shared by the majority of the population.

In fact, it is an element of free societies that allows individuals the psychological autonomy and the legal right to establish their own values and beliefs and to make their own life choices without interference from the state. Conversely, less free societies typically prohibit even the most benign forms of deviance and self-expression and may strictly punish any behavior that does not conform to the narrow expectations imposed by the state authorities.

Benign Deviance as a Beneficial Aspect of Psychological Autonomy and Expression

Examples of benign deviance would include choosing to dress in ways that are different from ordinary societal expectations, or choosing hairstyles (or hair colors) that are significantly different from ordinary societal expectations. Generally, people who choose to deviate from societal norms in benign ways do so either because they genuinely prefer a certain lifestyle for intrinsic reasons or because they want to make a social statement to others through their behavior.

Examples of intrinsically motivated deviance might include a person who decided that he prefers to devote his life to surfing, even as an adult, and who is content to live in his van and to support himself throughout his life at menial occupations instead of following the usual societal expectations of developing a more stable career. Another example of intrinsically motivated benign deviance would be individuals who choose to follow their natural preferences, such as their alternative sexual preference or gender identity simply because that choice reflects their genuine preference and inclination. In many societies and communities within societies, those types of choices would be considered deviant merely because they do not fit the expectations of the dominant cultural values.

Some individuals choose deviant behavior that is largely motivated by their desire for the attention of other people. Examples of such extrinsically motivated deviance would include those who purposely dress flamboyantly or who make use of props, such as by draping themselves in large boa constrictors in public, or who devote considerable time to building muscles and then display them in clothes purposely intended to show them off as much as possible, even in situations where the clothes necessary to do so are considered inappropriate or deviant by other people. Nevertheless, as long as those forms of deviance do not harm other people and do not involve criminal conduct, they would all be considered benign forms of deviance that are beneficial to society because they represent the freedom to live autonomously and freely in any way that does not threaten society.

Harmful Deviance as Destructive or Criminal Behavior

Deviance can also represent the worst in people. Specifically, examples of criminal deviance would be violent street gangs, organized crime, and other behaviors and organizations that deviate from societal norms and values but in ways that are not benign or harmless to society. The problem of these kinds of deviance have nothing to do, ?per se, with the fact that they represent deviant behavior; the fundamental problem is that they involve choices and behaviors that interfere with the rights and welfare of others and that break the formal laws established by society intended to allow the government to protect the entire population. Naturally, deviance that exploits others against their will or that endangers their health, safety, and welfare is detrimental to society and must be appropriately dealt with for those reasons and not because those behaviors happen to be deviant.