1.1: Defining Deviance

“What is deviant behavior?” cannot be answered in a straightforward manner. Whether an act is labeled deviant or not depends on many factors, including location, audience, and the individual committing the act (Becker 1963). Listening to Spotify on the way to class is considered acceptable behavior. Listening to your Spotify during your 2 p.m. sociology lecture is considered rude. Listening to your Spotify music played when on the witness stand before a judge may cause you to be held in contempt of court and consequently fined or jailed.

Deviance is behavior that violates social norms and arouses negative social reactions. Deviance is a more encompassing term than crime, meaning that it includes a range of activities, some of which are crimes and some of which are not. Some behavior is considered so harmful that governments enact written laws that ban the behavior. Crime is behavior that violates these laws and is certainly an important type of deviance that concerns many Americans. Some behaviors are not necessarily deviant or criminal and may not even be criminalized but may become criminalized in the future due to cultural change. For example, adultery (or “cheating on someone”) is considered a deviant act in cultures where monogamy is the norm, but it is rarely criminalized.

Deviance is a shifting landscape shaped by culture, history, and social norms. It varies over time and place. What might be labeled as deviant in one society or era could be entirely acceptable in another. This challenges us to question what is considered normal or abnormal.

Adding to this problem is the tendency to brand certain groups, especially marginalized communities, as “deviant.” People of color, individuals with mental health conditions, and those with disabilities have often been unfairly labeled as deviant, marking them as different from what is considered the norm. This labeling is deeply rooted in historical prejudices and societal biases, showcasing how power dynamics play a role in defining and stigmatizing certain behaviors. Should something be deemed criminal simply because it is different?

Thinking about the relationship between crime and deviance helps explain why some acts were criminalized. We can see, then, that the definitions of crime and deviance change over time and differ from culture to culture. To apply a more systematic and objective (i.e., “scientific”) approach to the study of crime, criminologists have developed typologies and other classification systems to organize their thinking about criminal acts. After defining deviance, an equally important question emerges: How do societies respond to norm violations? Social control addresses the mechanisms through which conformity is encouraged and deviance is sanctioned.