DEVIANCE

INTRODUCTION
The word deviance connotes odd or unacceptable behavior, but
in the sociological sense of the word,deviance is simply any
violation

of

societys

norms.

Deviance

can

range

from

something minor, such as a traffic violation, to something

major, such as murder.
Each society defines what is deviant and what is not, and
definitions of deviance differ widely between societies. For
example, some societies have much more stringent rules
regarding gender roles than we have in the United States, and
still other societies rules governing gender roles are less
stringent than ours.
Gender and Deviance
In the United States, women who cry in public in response to
emotional situations are not generally considered deviant
even women who cry frequently and easily. This view of women
has remained relatively constant. Over the past fifty years,
however, societys perception of men who cry has changed. A
man who cried publicly in the 1950s would have been
considered deviant. Today, men who cry in response to extreme
emotional situations are acting within societys norms. Male
politicians cry when announcing defeat, male athletes cry after
winning a championship, and male actors cry after winning an

award. By todays standards, none of these men is committing

a deviant act.

Relativism and Deviance

Deviance is a relative issue, and standards for deviance change
based on a number of factors, including the following:
Location: A person speaking loudly during a church
service would probably be considered deviant, whereas a
person speaking loudly at a party would not. Society
generally regards taking the life of another person to be a
deviant act, but during wartime, killing another person is
not considered deviant.
Age: A five-year-old can cry in a supermarket without
being considered deviant, but an older child or an adult
cannot.
Social status: A famous actor can skip to the front of a
long line of people waiting to get into a popular club, but a
nonfamous person would be considered deviant for trying
to do the same.
Individual societies: In the United States, customers in
department stores do not try to negotiate prices or barter
for goods. In some other countries, people understand that
one should haggle over the price of an item; not to do so is
considered deviant.

Cultural Norms and Deviance

In Japan, there are strict norms involving the exchange of
business cards. One person presents his or her business card
with the writing facing the recipient, who looks at it for a
moment and asks a question about some of the information on
the card. The question may be irrelevant, but it tells the giver
that the recipient has read the card and acknowledges the
person and his or her company. A Japanese executive who
receives a business card and does not take the time to look at it
and ask a question would be considered deviant.