Sociology 2266A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Moral Panic, Social Issue, Ideo

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2266A/B
• Professor: Brenda Kobayashi

Document Summary

Becker: no action in itself is deviant or criminal until it is defined as such. Deviance and crime can vary between cultures. Deviance and crime can vary across time. Deviant and criminal behaviour are controlled by rules, social mores, and sanctions. We as social beings draw the lines around behaviour to define criminal from not criminal, acceptable from not acceptable, appropriate from inappropriate, etc. Moral entrepreneurs1: politicians, scientists, religious institutions, media, commercial enterprise, the development of rules in a society is a process that involves a variety of social actors: Express with a level of conviction that some kind of threatening social evil exists and must be combatted. Wat(cid:272)hed a (cid:448)ideo (cid:272)alled (cid:862) tephe(cid:374) harper (cid:272)alls (cid:373)arijua(cid:374)a infinitely worse than tobacco(cid:863) News medias have been accused of causing moral panics by publishing sensationalistic accounts on social ills. Moral panic refers to widespread exaggerated public concern over issues associated with morality. Other examples of moral panic: prostitution, youth culture, and pornography.