SOCI 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Risk Management, Child Labour, Symbolic Interactionism
Document Summary
Deviance is both a type of social action as well as a substantive area in sociology. Definition: actions that break norms, that stray from the usual. Deviance is relative and depends on social context. Normality is socially constructed s there are no biological or genetic explanations for deviance. So many norms, so we can act deviantly in so many ways. Deviance: different levels of acceptability in diversity (and different levels of importance that are assigned to different values) Deviant behavior commonly causes observers to be confused, angry, bothered, appalled. Because norms vary from place to place and depending on the context, there are few if any universally deviant behaviors. Because universally deviant behaviors require universally shared values. These changes over time include the influence of social movements. Examples: men with long hair no longer deviant, piercings becoming less deviant. These changes over time can also include policy contexts.
