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Deviance : The Different Types Of Deviance In Society

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Deviance is all around us, everyone has done or thought something deviant and everyone has seen someone do or say something deviant. Because deviance is so common and sometimes very minor, we don’t always realize what is and is not considered deviant. Sometimes being deviant is beyond a person’s control. For example, my brother has a skin condition, called Vitiligo which causes depigmentation of the skin. It is very noticeable from a first glance that my brother is different. He has told me that he has often seen people stare at his skin with a puzzled look. This is because it is deviant to look different, yet unlike tattoos and piercings, some people don’t choose to look different, they are just born different. As the textbook states, constructionist’s issue with this type of deviance isn’t the person who looks out of place, but why these people are treated differently. It is unfair that people judge others who are born with handicaps or deformities, but people are used to normal, so when someone doesn’t look normal, they are judged. Another example of uncontrollable deviance are those individuals who are born into poverty. Based on the conflict theory, these individuals are automatically seen as deviant because many people associate deviance with lower class individuals. Sometimes this label can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is very hard for a deviant to get rid of their label. Not to mention that the United States prison system hardens criminals instead of

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