Deviance
As a citizen of the a small community in the country walks down the streets of a large city like Montreal or Toronto, it is quite obvious that they will probably find the behaviour or even the appearance of some individuals or groups they walk into somewhat intimidating or even offending. Now if a citizen of one of those two cities were to walk down the exact same street, they would see the same individuals that intimidated the country folk as the normal and probably walk right by without looking twice. Obviously the two different individuals have different views on what is normal or acceptable in society and what could be considered deviant. Who decides what is acceptable behaviour and who is right when it comes to deciding what is deviant? Deviance is any behaviour that is not acceptable to society's norms. Who is it that decides what is the norm and what would be considered abnormal? As with anything, those who have the money have the power. Those individuals who live in upper or middle class situations have a lot to do with setting the social norms. From elementary school to the everyday lives of adults, someone is always trying to do as well as or be like someone else. That someone else could be a co-worker,
a friend, a celebrity or even a family member. Since different morals and standards are accepted in different cultures and areas of the world, it is impossible to set one set of standards for everyone. Some homeless people who are on the street because of preference instead of misfortune would fit into this category. As more and more people begin to share the same beliefs in relation to a subject, those beliefs become the social norm and this can be looked at as the standards to which people of a certain society are expected to live. One would think that it would be a matter of personal preference. I believe that everyone does share a common goal in society and that is to excel in what ever you do, thus I believe greatly in this theory. This deviance may not be punished in the ways that negative deviances are but the individuals may be shunned and become outcasts. Works CitedIntroduction to Sociology, A Canadian Focus, Seventh Edition ; James J. Sociological theories try and explain deviance as everyone trying to be the best and have the highest social standing, but since this is not possible for everyone deviant means are used to get closer to that goal of supremacy. Although Archie Bunker was a fictional character I do believe that he helped many members of society in the 1970's have an open mind which helped some views and ideas on different races and sexual orientation change dramatically. Merton (1957) used the term retreatism to explain those individuals who back down from the expectations of society and live by their own means. ( Sheldon 1949) Today, I feel that this has changed drastically. So who is right about whether or not something is normal. It must also be up to the individual to decide whether or not the act committed is deviant or not. There are biological theories that look to the individual as the source of their own deviance.
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Acceptance Essays
