Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ebook PDF Understanding Deviance Connecting Classical and Contemporary Perspectives PDF
Ebook PDF Understanding Deviance Connecting Classical and Contemporary Perspectives PDF
Ebook PDF Understanding Deviance Connecting Classical and Contemporary Perspectives PDF
turnover in Chicago, Shaw and McKay offer social disorganization theory to the field of deviance.
This theory explains crime as a function of neighborhoods, not individual behavior.
SECTION 4
Social Pathology, Degeneracy, and Medicalization 167
SECTION 5
Labeling, Resistance, and Edgework 207
SECTION 6
Stigma, Carnival, and the Grotesque Body 251
conditions that, in turn, tarnish reputations and reduce life chances. Goffman specified three types of stigma,
including abominations of the body, which are highly relevant to the new field of body deviance discussed in
this section. Goffman’s term contrasts with Bhaktin’s carnival of the grotesque in other readings in this section.
SECTION 7
Deviant Careers, Identity, and Lifecourse Criminology 301
Crime and Deviance in the Life-Course—Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub 314
Sampson and Laub present another viewpoint on deviance, this based on lifecourse trajectories. Their life-
course approach is concerned with long-term patterns of crime (trajectories) and the events that can alter
their pathways (transitions). Unlike Becker’s deviant career approach, Sampson and Laub’s lifecourse per-
spective uses quantitative techniques to explain the causes of childhood crime and delinquency and how these
behaviors change over time.
better. Her work calls attention to the external causes that lead to prostitution (lifecourse criminology) as
well as the self-identity issues that work to keep individuals from exiting prostitution (deviant career).
SECTION 8
Moral Panics and Risk Society 351
Moral Panic Versus the Risk Society: The Implications of the Changing Sites of
Social Anxiety—Sheldon Ungar 371
Ungar suggests there may be a better way to understand social threats to society. The idea of risk society
focuses on events, conditions, and phenomena that are unpredictable, unlimited in scope, and not detect-
able by our physical senses. They originate in complex causes attributable to human decision-making,
technological innovation, and medical advancements. Risk society is also about social threats, as are
moral panics, but the reading suggests their origins and nature are more legitimate.
SECTION 9
Critical Criminology, Culture of Control, Mass Incarceration 389
Connections: The Social Control of Youth Across Institutional Spheres—Aaron Kupchik 429
Aaron Kupchik’s original connections reading for this section explains the policy approaches to controlling juvenile
deviance and crime over time and highlights the recent punitive expansion to school grounds through what the
author calls “the school-to-prison pipeline.” This causes students to miss school, drop out, and earn criminal records,
not diplomas. The policy achieves the opposite of the original intent of the juvenile justice system, outlined by Platt.
Critical Thinking Questions
SECTION 10
Queer Theory, Communities, and Citizenship 439
Coming Out All Over: Deviants and the Politics of Social Problems—John I. Kitsuse 444
Kitsuse argues that homosexuals—and other marginal groups in society—form separate communities to
retain their unique cultural customs and lifestyles but also seek the recognition, respect, rights, and privileges
xii | CONTENTS
heterosexuals and other “normal” citizens traditionally enjoy. He calls for sociology to move away from
viewing deviant groups through a lens of stigma, discrimination, and shame to one of citizenship and
empowerment.
SECTION 11
Critical Race Theory, Multiculturalism, and Identity 473
The Battle of Los Angeles: The Cultural Politics of Chicana/o Music in the
Greater Eastside—Victor Hugo Viesca 496
This reading describes how Hispanics in Los Angeles resist oppression and social control by participating in
Latin fusion music scenes. Through music, young Hispanics counter the harsh labels, stigma, and discrimi-
nation they often face while being their authentic selves. Unlike Cohen’s focus on cultural balance, Viesca
highlights the value of securing an outlet and space for multicultural expression.
CONTENTS | xiii
“I Was Aggressive for the Streets, Pretty for the Pictures”: Gender, Difference,
and the Inner-City Girl—Nikki Jones 504
Nikki Jones profiles a young black female, Kiara, who shows us that race, gender, and class are ongoing per-
formances that feature norm violation and consequences. As Cohen notes in his reading, Kiara balances her
behavior and identity in “legit” white society with her inner-city home by “looking pretty for the pictures, but
tough enough for the streets.” The reading demonstrates that norms and standards for behavior are deter-
mined by our demographic and cultural background, thus requiring the field of deviance to attend to diversity.
SECTION 12
Biomedicalization, Biopower, and Biocitizens 517
Credits 559
Index 561
This page intentionally left blank
SERIES FOREWORD
Hello. My name is Gabi. I’m a supercool feedee1 who loves life and loves pleasing you on and off
the camera! I love being naughty with food, in public, and just going all out with snacking and eat-
ing. I am a growing girl and I would love if you would join my journey of showing how beautiful
fat, soft rolls are and how beautiful fat really is. (Gaining Gabi, n.d.)
Are feedees like Gabi deviant? If yes, how so? Understanding Deviance: Connecting Classi-
cal and Contemporary Perspectives dares readers to think in new and innovative ways about
deviance in society. Many of us, including sociologists who study deviance, would answer yes
to the first question and assume we could get Gabi to conform to our norms about body
size. Our expectations for this are conveyed weekly on TV shows such as The Biggest Loser.
Contestants like Megan2 try to conform to our standards, while feedees like Gabi violate
them. On the Biggest Loser Web site, we learn that Megan sees herself as
“fun-loving, comedic, artistic and high-spirited young adult who is missing out on enjoying life”
because of her inability to do things that most 21-year-olds can do . . . Now 21 years old, 259 pounds
and tired of her weight holding her back, she wants to get healthy so she can participate in rodeos
again and win, train horses, and shop at regular clothing stores.3
Gabi, on the other hand, is a five feet nine, 26-year-old, heterosexual blonde who wears a
women’s pant size of between 38 and 44—more than four times the average size of women
her height (i.e., average is between sizes 6 and 10). Sociologists have observed that feedees like
Gabi are likely deviant in several respects. First, they purposefully defy norms about body
size and society’s aesthetic standards. Second, they also reject expectations for how individuals
should take care of themselves and safeguard their own health and well-being. Third, Gabi
and other feedees make no apologies for being sexually charged and assertive. Instead, they
celebrate it. Gabi tells us her favorite sexual position is doggy style and the purpose of her
Web site is to attract chubby chasers who have sexual fetishes for large women. In fact, she is
proud to host a pornographic Web site that invites the public to indulge.
How do we make sense of people like Gabi? Perhaps most of us would focus on the
health risks associated with being obese. But putting aside health issues, how does her story
provoke us to hold a mirror to the norms, values, and beliefs we endorse on a daily basis?
At a very basic level, deviance is the violation of norms, a breach of the standards society
sets for behaviors, traits, conditions, identities, and lifestyles. Gabi proudly violates them
while Megan feels shamed and tries to correct her condition and conform to our norms.
Since deviance is usually viewed negatively—for example, as a threat that can harm people,
institutions, and society—it is often met with social control. Gabi probably ignores shows
xviii | PREFACE
like The Biggest Loser and talks back to people who criticize her, while Megan buys into the
show’s worldview and gets distraught when people humiliate her for being obese. Gabi is,
in effect, a contemporary woman, while Megan is much more traditional. The classic socio-
logical work on deviance has helped us understand Megan and her viewpoints and behav-
iors, but it doesn’t equip us to understand Gabi.
This example illustrates the need to modernize the study of deviance. It also calls attention
to one of the central tenets of this book: pairing classic and contemporary viewpoints about
deviance and social control is essential because it can sharpen our critical thinking skills and
help us better understand our lives and others’ today. Not convinced? Let me ask you another
question.
Is being called a bitch a put-down or a compliment? What do you think? What would
your grandmother say? Your mother? The term bitch has historically been a pejorative label
to control and reprimand outspoken women (Hughes 2006). However, former Saturday
Night Live star Tina Fey sees things differently. In her “Weekend Update” skit on the 2008
presidential campaign,4 she turns the sexist term bitch on its head and argues that it is a
badge of honor to celebrate and a compliment to those who are called it, including Hillary
Clinton and other strong women.
Tina Fey’s resistance stance challenges gender norms (about women and political power)
and the bitch stigma that attempts to brand unruly women. Her use of the term seeks to
reverse its damaging meaning by invoking an emboldened and opposing viewpoint, which
is more consistent with the newer tradition of resistance (Hollander and Einwohner 2004).
Resistance is about the pushback against or rejection of deviant labeling or classification.
With resistance, deviant labels act as a badge of honor to celebrate, not as a kiss of death
or source of shame. Therefore, while our grandmothers may think being called a bitch is a
terrible thing, younger women today might agree with Fey’s more modern stance and view
it as a compliment.
How do these contemporary stories of deviance, labeling, shame, and resistance help explain
the rationale and structure of this book for teaching? One way is by showing us how useful it
is to draw connections between the old and the new. Not only do we see social life and social
processes more clearly when alternative meanings are accorded to similar forms of deviant
behavior, but we also learn how to appreciate and interact with those who see things dif-
ferently from ourselves. This may better equip us to reach common goals in an increasingly
diverse and ever-changing world. Connecting the classic with the contemporary allows us to
retain traditions while evolving with the times.
Part 1 of Understanding Deviance highlights parallels between classic deviance terms and
contemporary concepts from a wider range of sociological theories and traditions. Some of
these include the following:
The nine sections in Part 1 each include older and modern reprinted readings consid-
ered pivotal in the field of deviance. Connections between them are offered in an original
“connections” reading—written exclusively for this book—that features a type of deviance
to elucidate the differing viewpoints of the reprinted materials. In these connections read-
ings, and the short section introductions, the learning goals of this book are introduced and
developed.
PREFACE | xix
TABLE P.1
Part 2 includes three sections with readings that raise interesting possibilities for the future
study of deviance. They suggest we cease focusing narrowly on individuals and broaden our
view to institutions and communities. Moreover, when we do talk about deviant or marginal
people, Section 10 asks us to look at them not simply as Others to be ostracized or controlled
but instead, as Kitsuse (1980) claims, as individuals demanding citizenship for unique cul-
tural and social expressions as well as novel lifestyles and identities. This will require us to
employ a multidisciplinary framework that reveals deviance as a political, social, anthropo-
logical, psychological, and medical phenomenon.
Taken together, the 12 sections in Parts 1 and 2 cover a wider range of deviant behaviors,
traits, and conditions. The readings address underage drinking and drunk driving, doping
in elite sports, gang behavior, community crime, juvenile delinquency, hate crime, prison
violence and transgender prisoners, mental illness, drug-using women and domestic violence,
obesity, tattooing, sexual fetishes, prostitution, drug epidemics, viral pandemics, crime con-
trol strategies and racial inequality, gay neighborhoods, HIV and bugchasers, and youth,
multiculturalism, and music scenes.
A main objective of this book is to sharpen students’ critical thinking skills by having them
consider that deviant behaviors, traits, or conditions can be viewed from opposing or alter-
native perspectives. By learning to see deviance from multiple perspectives, students will
better understand their own and other’s behavior and experiences and be able to anticipate
future trends. Balancing multiple perspectives may also assist students in their practical work
in social service, criminal justice, and other agencies and institutions that deal with popula-
tions considered deviant in one way or another.
The concepts introduced in each of the 12 sections are a useful way to develop and
strengthen critical thinking. Embedded in the stories of deviant acts and individuals that run
throughout the book, the conceptual parallels and connections often showcase at least two
sides of the very stories that characterize our lives. As the building blocks of theory, these
concepts also teach us about the present and future, alert us to potential dangers, and help
us find solutions to move society forward. In short, they enable us to see patterns and make
predictions to improve life. These concepts are also the easiest way for students to see how
theory works in everyday life. This novel conceptual approach to the study of deviance,
xx | PREFACE
which links classical ideas to contemporary behaviors and identities, should not only serve
to help revitalize the field in academic circles but also increases the value to people’s lives of
studying deviance in societies near and afar.
Another goal of Understanding Deviance is to help students see how social processes
work in everyday life, including how various forms of inequality (race, class, and gender) are
maintained by defining deviance and administering social control. For example, norms have
distinct meaning by race, ethnicity, gender, and class identities and status. Because norms
are always based on power disparities, certain race, class, or gender identities, expressions,
or behaviors are favored and often shape what is defined as acceptable or normal in society.
The Other individuals are deemed marginal and subordinated. Therefore, deviance teaches a
great deal about social inequality.
One way I provoke my students to think about deviance and inequality is through my
term “switch it out.” This phrase refers to how people’s viewpoints are not primarily about
a certain behavior or trait but more about the demographic characteristics of the person in
question. Consider any deviant behavior—for example, promiscuous sex, selling drugs, or
cage fighting/mixed martial arts. Does your opinion about these activities differ depending
on who commits them? Is it the same thing for males and females to engage in promiscuous
sex, sell drugs, and perform mixed martial arts? Are these behaviors less deviant for middle-
class white males than they are for poor black ones? What if the main characters in the hit
TV series The Sopranos, Dexter, or Breaking Bad were not all white males but were instead
black or Hispanic males or females? Would the public root for them the same way? Put sim-
ply, some “deviant behaviors” are not considered bad if the “right” person (i.e., those hav-
ing more socially valuable race, class, and gender identities) commits them. Understanding
Deviance helps to teach students to look at deviance in this way. The development of critical
thinking skills also helps students to probe and understand the complexities of deviance,
which includes developing a more finely tuned sensitivity to political, cultural, economic,
and social matters. The structure and approach of Understanding Deviance helps students to
acquire these sensitivities, stimulating their intellectual curiosity and promoting their contin-
ued learning over time.
NOTES
1. According to Urbandictionary.com, a feedee is a “male/female (typically female) that wishes to gain weight (to
become more attractive to chubby chasers) through means of stuffing one’s face with unhealthy food goods”;
Retrieved September 23, 2012, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=feedee.
2. “The Biggest Loser” October 10, 2012, http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/contestants/megan/bio/.
3. Italics added.
4. “SNL—Tina Fey on Hillary Clinton—Bitch Is the New Black,” February 29, 2008. Accessed September 25,
2012, http://videosift.com/video/SNL-Tina-Fey-on-Hillary-Clinton-Bitch-Is-The-New-Black.
REFERENCES
Gaining Gabi. n.d. Retrieved on September 21, 2012, www.GainingGabi.com.
Hollander, J. and Einwohner, R. L. 2004. “Conceptualizing Resistance.” Sociological Forum 19: 533–554.
Hughes, Geoffrey. 2006. Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and
Ethnic Slurs in the English-Speaking World. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
Kitsuse, John I. 1980. “Coming Out all Over: Deviants and the Politics of Social Problems.” Social Problems 28(1): 1–12.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is a labor of love which could not have been conceived, written, or published
without the help and support of many people, both inside and outside academia and pub-
lishing. It took shape during my years of teaching about deviance at the University of Dela-
ware. However, my parents like to remind me that I was always interested in people who
didn’t do what they were supposed to, especially those called “weirdos,” “troublemakers,”
or “outsiders” (including me). So, let me begin by thanking my parents—Odel and Chrys-
tine Anderson—for their love, patience, and support over the years and for listening to and
laughing at my stories about deviant behavior. Next, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude
to the folks at the University of Delaware (UD)—faculty, staff, and students alike. Nancy
Quillen, Linda Keen, Chris Grott, and Judy Watson provided constant administrative help
during the production process. My UD colleagues Joel Best, Anne Bowler, Aaron Kupchik,
Victor Perez, Susan Miller, and Ben Fluery-Steiner helped me conceive this book, and they
provided critical feedback throughout the writing process. I’m indebted to them for their
help. I can say the same for the folks at Routledge. I’d like to thank Steve Rutter and Val Jen-
ness for believing in me, assisting me, and pushing me to make this book better. Thanks also
to Margaret Moore for all of her editorial assistance. Mostly, however, I want to thank my
students. Over the years, many graduate and undergraduate students have opened my eyes to
alternative viewpoints and have tuned me in to deviance in everyday life. They have indulged
my ideas and have offered many of their own to help improve my work. Thus, this book is a
collaborative effort. Several of my former and current graduate students—Philip R.Kavanaugh,
R. J. Maratea, David Lane, Holly Swan, Laura Monico, John J. Brent, Kevin Ralston, and
Emily Bonistall (along with my faculty colleagues Aaron Kupchik, Victor Perez, and Lori
Sexton from the University of Missouri–Kansas City)—have contributed excellent connec-
tions readings to this book and have provided constant and invaluable input over time. They
wrote and rewrote their readings, always met their deadlines, and tolerated my relentless
pestering. They have simply been the best team of collaborators any author/editor could ask
for. There are still other students to thank as well, but they are too many to list here. I am
grateful for the time we spent together in class. Finally, there are other people who supported
me in finishing this book. Barret Michalec and Jenn Walters-Michalec, Autumn Bayles, my
siblings—Terri Hellman, David Anderson, and Tracey Whitney—and the DiFrancesco family
were always there to listen to the joy of this book’s journey as well as its bumps in the road.
Thanks for being my sounding board, guys. And last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank
my partner, Francki DiFrancesco, for her unwavering love and support, as well as her ideas,
xxii | ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
insights, and commentary throughout this project. Thank you, Francki, for the cover idea;
reading and commenting about Gaining Gabi, bugchasers, prostitutes, free-runners, and so
on; consoling me in the tough times, and celebrating the good. In short, I thank you all for
helping me with Understanding Deviance.
In addition, a thank you to the reviewers for their very helpful feedback:
Defining Deviance
This page intentionally left blank
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
dans la sphère de cuivre alla dilater l’hydrogène de l’enveloppe et le
ballon commença à s’élever ; pour activer au besoin la rapidité de
l’ascension il eût suffi d’injecter en outre dans l’enveloppe une
certaine quantité de l’hydrogène comprimé tenu en réserve dans les
obus. Comme on le voit ce dispositif ne nous permettait pas
seulement de nous dispenser de lest, il nous donnait aussi la faculté
précieuse d’atterrir où bon nous semblerait et de repartir ensuite à
notre gré.
Il y avait dans la lente ascension de la machine se délivrant pour
la première fois des chaînes de la pesanteur tant de souple docilité
jointe à tant de majestueuse puissance, que toutes sortes
d’émotions puissantes, — orgueil, admiration, respect presque
religieux de nous-mêmes et de l’œuvre, — firent battre éperdument
nos cœurs. En vérité ces triomphales minutes n’étaient pas payées
trop cher par les inquiétudes, les ennuis et les mille difficultés
exaspérantes au milieu desquelles je me débattais depuis de longs
mois. Lorsque le moment décisif fut arrivé, que nous eûmes atteint
l’altitude suffisante et que Ceintras, fermant pour un instant le tuyau
par lequel l’air chaud arrivait dans l’enveloppe, eut embrayé l’hélice
propulsive, toutes nos querelles, tous nos dissentiments furent
oubliés, et nos mains s’étreignirent tandis que nous cherchions en
vain des mots dignes d’exprimer notre bonheur et notre mutuelle
reconnaissance.
Tout cela était d’un heureux augure et il faut bien dire que rien ne
le démentit. Je n’ai pas, du reste, le dessein de raconter nos
expériences par le menu ; ce serait fastidieux et inutile. Durant les
dix jours qui suivirent, le ballon accomplit plus de 3000 kilomètres et
resta en état de marche sans qu’il eût été nécessaire de renouveler
notre provision d’essence et d’hydrogène. Les menues
mésaventures que nous eûmes à subir ne servirent en définitive qu’à
affermir davantage encore notre confiance. C’est ainsi qu’une fois, à
une centaine de kilomètres de Kabarova, notre moteur resta en
panne par suite d’un excès d’huile et d’un encrassement des
bougies ; le ballon atterrit doucement, nous procédâmes à un
nettoyage rapide des cylindres, puis le moteur fut remis en marche,
le ballon s’éleva de nouveau et nous rentrâmes au port d’attache
avec un retard d’une demi-heure à peine sur l’horaire prévu. Une
seule modification importante fut apportée à la machine durant ces
derniers jours : nous renforçâmes les amortisseurs destinés à éviter
les heurts au moment des atterrissages et nous les disposâmes
d’une façon nouvelle, qui devait nous permettre d’atterrir sans
danger dans des espaces extrêmement restreints.
Je crois également inutile de raconter notre voyage de Kabarova
à la terre François-Joseph. La lente navigation dans les mers
boréales, les brumes opaques qui semblent être là depuis des
siècles et des siècles et ne s’entr’ouvrir qu’avec peine ou
paresseusement pour laisser passer le vaisseau, l’inquiétude
perpétuelle des glaces dans les étroits chenaux d’eau libre à mesure
qu’on se rapproche de la banquise, les icebergs flottant au loin
comme des brumes plus pâles dans la brume, tout cela est connu
par les relations des explorateurs et n’a rien à faire dans mon
histoire, surtout lorsque je pense que mes jours, sans doute, sont
comptés.
Le ballon, dont on n’avait pas eu besoin de démonter la partie
mécanique, fut regonflé et prêt à partir cinq jours après notre
débarquement. Il ne me reste qu’à reproduire ici le document écrit
en double dont nous gardâmes un exemplaire et dont l’autre fut
confié aux soins du capitaine la veille même de notre départ.
« Le 18 août 1905, le Tjörn, bâtiment norvégien, capitaine
Hammersen, a déposé à l’extrémité sud de la terre François-Joseph
MM. Jacques Ceintras et Jean-Louis de Vénasque, sujets français,
domiciliés l’un et l’autre à Paris, 145 bis, avenue de la Grande-
Armée, lesquels sont partis de là le 26 août pour tenter d’atteindre le
Pôle Nord en ballon dirigeable. Un autre document a été remis par
eux à M. Henri Dupont, domicilié à Paris, 75 rue Cujas, chef de
l’équipe d’ouvriers qui les assista durant la période des essais à
Kabarova (Russie). En cas de réussite Hammersen, capitaine du
Tjörn, H. Dupont et les autres hommes de l’équipe confirmeront
l’exactitude des dits documents. En cas d’échec et de disparition
définitive des deux explorateurs, ils sont priés de divulguer les faits
dont ils ont été témoins. MM. Ceintras et de Vénasque tiennent à
cette divulgation moins pour la satisfaction, d’ailleurs légitime, d’être
inscrits au nombre des victimes de la science que pour donner un
exemple et un enseignement à ceux qui, ayant dès à présent conçu,
par suite des progrès de la navigation aérienne, des desseins
analogues, seraient tentés de les réaliser à leur tour. »
CHAPITRE IV
PROPOS ENTRE CIEL ET TERRE