Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Reeves Wieghaus Deviant Appearance and Behavior 2012 Itaa Final Draft
Reeves Wieghaus Deviant Appearance and Behavior 2012 Itaa Final Draft
Reeves Wieghaus Deviant Appearance and Behavior 2012 Itaa Final Draft
BACKGROUND
*The sociology of deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms,
and the creation and enforcement of those norms (Workman &
Freeburg, 2000).
*The way in which deviance relates to normative behavior and how it is
socially received contributes to the definition of an appearance or
behavior as deviant (Workman & Freeburg, 2000).
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research was guided by the differential association theory
(Sutherland, 1947), which illuminates ideas about the necessary
elements and processes that are needed for deviance to occur.
BACKGROUND:
MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS/MOVIES OF STUDY
Augusta Gone (TV Movie)
Augusta is the average American
teen being raised in a singleparent home. Feelings of selfhate cause her to undergo a
deviant transformation when
she meets a new friend.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to examine media constructions of deviance
as related to appearance and identity and the catalytic factors or that
facilitate the violation of appearance norms and identify related themes.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1) Within media constructions, to what extent does a deviant appearance
contribute to the construction and deconstruction of a deviant identity in
adolescent females?
2) How do the characters presented in Thirteen and Augusta, Gone
construct and deconstruct a deviant identity through appearance and
behavior? That is, what thought processes and actions are undertaken to
produce this new identity?
METHOD(S)
Constant Comparison Approach/Grounded Theory
CONCEPTUAL MODEL:
THE PATTERN OF DEVIANT APPEARANCE AND
BEHAVIOR CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT
DEFINITION OF TERMS
INTIMATE PERSONAL GROUP:
Individuals (i.e., friends and family) with which the principle adolescent female
has a close association, contact, and familiarity marked by development of a
relationship through long association. The adolescent female interacts with these
individuals in a personal and private nature (Adler & Adler, 2006; Levine & Smolak, 1998).
CATALYST INDIVIDUAL:
An individual who is (typically) another adolescent female of a higher social
standing (i.e., popular) and befriends or approaches the adolescent female to join
a deviant intimate personal group. The catalyst individual often plays an
instrumental role in the development of the principle adolescent females deviant
identity by coercing her to adopt new appearances and behaviors that would
allow her to achieve acceptance with a new intimate personal group.
For Augusta: Rain
CONVERSION
The adolescent female is crossing the
threshold from normative behavior to
deviant appearance and behavior. She
develops a desire to experiment with new
appearances, behaviors, and ultimately,
identities. This experimentation leads to
norm violations.
Tracy
Augusta
STRONG
The deviant identity has fully emerged and the adolescent female is fully
engaged in deviant appearance and behavior. Positive feedback from the
catalyst individual/her new friends deems her efforts to change her
identity worthwhile and effective.
Augusta
Tracy
CRACKING
The adolescent female develops ambivalence about her new identity and
deviant appearance and behaviors. The process of questioning her new
self-definition is stressful and tension mounts at a rapid pace. The onset of
this stress causes the adolescent female to and feel an urgency to relieve
the pressure that her new identity has caused.
Augusta
Tracy
COLLAPSE
The adolescent female has lost her new identity. Her appearance remains
that of the new identity, but obvious glimpses of her original identity start
to reappear in her appearance. This return to her original identity is
accompanied by little self-reflection and, thus, allows the pressure
associated with the ambivalence of her new identity to rebuild.
Tracy
Augusta
UPHEAVAL
The adolescent female experiences pressure to reveal her deviant
appearance and behaviors to her original intimate personal group. She is
forced to acknowledge the negative role that her deviant appearance and
behaviors have played in her life.
Augusta
Tracy
RESTORATION
The adolescent female restores her old identity and infuses it back in to
her daily life. She never fully reverts back to the original appearance norm,
but her appearance is manipulated in order to portray a new identity that
combines elements of both her original identity and deviant identity.
Tracy
Augusta
LITERATURE CITED
Adler, P.A., & Adler, P. (2006). The deviance society. Deviant Behavior,
27(2), 129-148.
Blake, J. & Davis, K. (1964). Norms, values, and sanctions. In R. Faris (Ed.),
Handbook of modern sociology (pp. 456-484). Chicago: Rand McNally.
deMause, L. (2002). The emotional life of nations. New York: Kamac.
Kaiser, S.B. (1997). The social psychology of clothing: Symbolic appearances
in context (2nd ed.). New York: Fairchild Publications.
Levine, M.P., & Smolak, L. (1998). The mass media and disordered eating:
Implications for primary prevention. In G. Van Noordenbos & W.
Vandereycken (Eds.), The prevention of eating disorders (pp. 23-56).
London: Athlone.
Sutherland, E.H. (1998 [1947]). Differential association. In H.N. Pontell
(Ed.), Social deviance: Readings in theory and research (3rd ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Willis, P. (1978). Profane culture. London: Routledge.
Workman, J.E., & Freeburg, E.W. (2000). Part I: Expanding the definition of
the normative order to include dress norms. Clothing and Textiles
Research Journal, 18(1), 46-55.