Howard S Becker

Norms are what majority of society accepts. Murderers for instance not only have they violated a social norm but a legal norm too. The normative usually depends on the legal norms to identify deviance which means if an act is part of a law then it would automatically be categorised as a normative and creates expectations on how society should behave. Durkheim also researched whether crime is normal or it is something uncontrolled and if criminal behaviour has a positive or negative on society. He then came to a conclusion that the existence of crime is normal rather than it being a labelling perspective because it occurs in all cultures. Durkheim also concluded that people who commit a criminal act is from biological and psychological causes and that criminal behaviour has a more positive occurrence to society because when a criminal act happens people in society are united and can share their values on the crime and discuss with people on what has happened. Deviant is beyond the law it involves policy. Crime has its purpose because without crime the norms can’t exist. For society to be able to punish someone on their deviant act it involves the society to reunite and brings people together, crime also serves a social function and should not only be understood as pathology but should be considered as normal. For example when people hear on the news about a gunman who has shot five children, people don't stop to think if that behaviour violates social norms. Instead people ask ‘who would do such a thing?’ this question then reassures people that committing crime is deviant and creates a boundary on what is ‘wrong’ and ‘right in

Tattoos are stigmatized as aggressive and deviant because it was once commonly known among “out group”, outlaws, criminals, bikers, prisoners, and etc., (Heywood,Patrick, Smith, Pitts, Richters, Shelley, (n.d)). People who obtain tattoos are more perceived negatively towards tattooed figures than that of non-tattooed adults. Women with tattoos are more negatively looked upon than men. There is a type of control over people with tattoos and employment.

There have been theories made by people in government position on the crime epidemic and how to lower crime the crime rate. Many believe that the tougher the consequences, the better it would help people deter away from a life of crime. Unfortunately, this is not true for countries like the United States. We have very strict consequences for people that commit crime, yet we also have one of the

Those people who are labelled as deviant may seek out others in the same situation. They provide understanding and support since they share the same problems. Within this group a deviant sub-culture may develop in which a deviant lifestyle is a major concern. This can be seen in certain gay communities particularly in the United States. Those forced into ‘deviant communities’ now see themselves as different from the wider society and act accordingly.

One reason for the social divide is the reason behind their tattoos. The upper class got tattoos to impress, while the working class got tattoos to express. Over the next few decades, the social practice of tattooing sustained itself. But the art still raises eyebrows till this day and the tattooed remain relatively marginalized by the larger society.

I’ve found some ideas and thoughts that I agree with and they also seem correct to me. From what I’ve learnt a year ago from a psychology class, the United States has the highest criminal rate among the developed countries, and a very high rat of poverty as well. Most people do think that the solution to reduce criminal actions is to punish those criminals and separate them from the society. I agree that the use of incarceration isn't the solution. I remember a short film from my abnormal psychology class discussing about those people who had mental issue being locked up in a jail instead of being treated with any proper medical or psychological care. After being released from the jail, they did the same thing that violated the laws simply because they were not educated, helped, and cared during the time in jail, and they

Society holds expectations for its citizens, and non-citizens at a very high level. They expect everyone to abide by the law, and give back to the community. In a perfect world all citizens and non-citizens would be good Samaritans, sadly it is far from that in today’s society. Many individuals are deviant and stray from society’s expectations of them. We know them as criminals. Indeed some of them may be hardened criminals, yet some of them commit petty crimes that are still a burden on society. Whether, their crime is petty or severe, society expects them to pay for their actions. Most criminals at one time or another will spend time in prison or jail.

Crime as a social construction is the idea that reality is created in our minds. What we perceive something to be ends up to be what it is. Crime, often described as deviance is a labelled behaviour. If one does not view an action as deviant at the time then it is not deviant, this shows us how deviance is a relative concept. In terms of how different people perceive crime, depending on what religious or ethnic backgrounds one may come from, there is heavy variation between individuals. What is illegal or legal in one culture can be very different in another culture. It can

Today’s culture is a great example of how what’s considered sinful, and criminal changes over time. Many people once believed that marking the body with tattoos and piercings was a sin. Nowadays, tattoos and piercings are a lot more common. People have even gone as far as tattooing famous bible verses on themselves, when there are old scriptures from the same religion rejecting the idea of marking the body.

Imagine someone rich or powerful committing crimes without the fear of serving consequences. The crime may include murder, robbery, or stealing. Deviance is a label for an action or behavior that violates social norms. Social norms are rules or expectations which usually guide members of society. Deviance is nonconformity to these norms. Social norms can vary from culture to culture and is defined in numerous ways. Many researchers believe that deviance is a violation of social norms. Some believe deviant behavior is breaking the law or acting in a negative manner. Sociologists use specific words to classify deviant actions from a sociological perspective. There are crimes that are deviant actions and not deviant acts. For example; this

There are key differences between what is considered deviant and what is criminal. Deviant behaviour is defined as violation of norms and these are typically socially defined rules of behaviour and are not legally enforceable. In comparison, the definition of criminal behaviour is the violation of law and this is legally enforceable. For example, it could be considered deviant for someone to refuse to line up in a queue, whereas it is criminal for someone to carry an unregistered gun. A social problem is a condition or behaviour that requires remedy because a large enough section of the community regard it as harmful or negative. These definitions could be considered a social problem because there is no consistent definition of what is criminal or deviant; it is something that changes based on who is doing the defining. This means that what could be considered deviant or criminal by one section of society could differ to the views of another section. For example, some sections of the community consider homosexuality to be a violation of a social norm; some

Howard Becker, an American sociologist who has made major contributions to the sociology of deviance, art, and music begins his article “Whose side are we on” by questioning the values of sociologist when undertaking the studies of problem within the world we live in. He believes they are caught in a “crossfire” between

However, some people argue that we have other alternatives, such as, community services. Also, the government could focus it is resources on the causes of crime, which would lead to less it in the future.

Crime and deviance are two terms that have a strong connection. The main relationship between them is that they are both socially constructed and they are not natural. A deviant is someone that is charecterized as a violator of the norm in the society the

However, although tattoos are progressively seen as a prosocial rational method of communicating ones identity to others within their societal group and the wider society (Atkinson, 2003), research (e.g. Mun, Janigo & Johnson, 2012) is consistently highlighting the possibility that obtaining an tattoo can lead to changes in how tattoo wearers view themselves and their behaviour.