Week 8’s Discussion of Deviance
Tying into Week 8’s Discussion of Deviance, why are some people more likely than others to be labeled as deviant? In other words, what part do race, ethnicity, gender, age, class, sexual orientation, and employment status play in a labeling process with a pejorative connotation?
According to the labeling theory, deviance is not inherent in the act itself as criminal, but it focusses on the tendency of the majority groups to negatively label the minorities or the people who are perceived to go against the standard cultural norms of the society constantly. The manner in which you are going to be labeled will most likely depend on various factors such as race, unemployment, ethnicity, age, and class. For example, the individuals who are unemployed are highly labeled as deviant compared to those who are not employed. This is because the employed people associate the unemployed with such activities as theft and burglary, and violation of other society’s set norms and standards of conduct. In labeling, individuals also look at the race or one’s ethnicity. For example, black is labeled as deviant compared to the whites. According to research, schools tend to discipline the black children more frequently and harshly compared to the white children despite lack of evidence to show that black kids are more likely to behave defiantly than the white kids. Men are more likely to be labeled as deviant due to the social construction of gender. In general, the manner in which one is labeled as deviant or not deviant depends on the groups that he or she belongs, as dominant groups in the society are considered as not deviant, and they lable the minority groups as deviant.