Summary Of Defining Deviancy Down By Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Acceptance and comprehension of behaviors, not only in the United States, but also in many different countries has come to be an argument that does not have a clear end. Sociologists and even politicians have been discussing how something that in the past was unacceptable, in the modern world is seen as normal and beneficial for society. For example, marriage in couples of the same sex, people and even the Supreme Court have been discussing the idea of giving these people the right to be married and have the same benefits as a “normal” couple. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was an American politician and sociologist wrote a whole essay on these topics, entitled: “Defining Deviancy Down” written in 1993. He presented to the United States and

Interestingly, some forms of positive deviance started in a negative light. Consider Jesus who was crucified for his role in society during his lifetime; however, today is worshipped as a charismatic leader who was unappreciated during his lifetime. Likewise, Martin Luther King met with horrific resistance, and is now considered one of the most charismatic and prolific leaders of his time. Their deviance from the societal norms cost them their lives, yet their ideology and value systems are foundational in today’s society. Additionally, there are many in the scientific community who through their intellectual brilliance brought us incredible scientific breakthroughs, but were received as crazy, crackpots who needed help rather than being recognized for their innate intelligence. Heckert described positive deviance as an altruistic lifestyle which is exemplified by Mother Teresa, as innate qualities inherited genetically and displayed in the athletic arena, and as “supra conformity” by the “straight A student” whose zealous achievement is highlighted in academia (1998). Heckert showed the supra conformist with innate intelligence brings innovative ideas to society, yet is sanctioned and ostracized for being a nerd/geek who is not understood by the society they are benefitting. Consequently, there are very negative and real consequences for stepping away from the norm with respect to society no matter which end of the spectrum the behavior and ideals

Deviance can also be explained by context; if an individual member of a gang does not join in on an activity along with the rest of the gang members, the individual can be seen as deviant. Macionis and Gerber explain that “the social welfare and criminal justice system blame individuals, not the system, for social problems.”(p.219). Deviance is constructed by institutions to be a problem stemming from the individual rather than society. Basically, because society makes up a majority, what most of a society's members do is considered normal. Doing something unlike what a society does is considered abnormal and people are usually uncomfortable with this sort of disparity. Macionis and Gerber go on to clarify that “people become deviant as others define them that way.”(p.219). Without defining the boundaries between normal and abnormal, deviance would not exist. Essentially, deviant acts are constructed through stigmatizing actions that are deemed dissimilar or immoral in a society. Fundamentally, deviance is a violation of the social norm. It is constructed by certain institutions and individuals; and it can be condemned by society, the law or both.

Deviance is defined as the recognized violation of cultural norms. Violating these cultural norms can also be labeled a crime whether or not it is an actual written law in our society. Deviance isn’t something that is set in stone; rather it can vary based on location or on time (present and future) as a victim of cultural lag. When deviance and crime are thought of in the context of the internet, an impersonal location readily accessible to the masses, the numerous types of deviance actually occurring can become daunting to think about. Some of these are mere deviances against folkways which could be considered a slap on the wrist infraction, while others would be labeled as more formal crimes with moral

Although sex is viewed as physically stimulating, when we look at the true purpose of sex, it is obviously meant as a means of procreating, not a means of stimulating our thirst for excitement. But society thrives on sex and the culture that comes along with it, which is why sex is no longer seen as a means of having children before it is seen as an intimate way to make ourselves to feel good. If we are to look at studies that have progressed over the last 50 years, we see the majority of Americans admit that only 3% of us wait until marriage before having sex, and over 11% waited until marriage before the year 1960 (Mike.) This may not seem like a big difference, but the reality is that this is a huge gap, falling at over 1% every decade. This goes to show how much things have changed since the writing of Brave new world back in the 1930s.

Deviance is described as “any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs” (Kendall, 2015, p. 164). Positive deviance on the other hand “is based on the observation that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers, while having access to the same resources and facing similar or worse challenges” (“Positive deviance initiative,” 2016). Positive deviance seems, as pointed out in Heckert’s article, to be an oxymoron. It is near impossible to reconcile the concept of deviant behavior, which in and of itself seems to exude negativity, with the concept of exceptional intelligence, or innovative thinking. One way to look at positive deviance by comparing it to a statistical norm, or bell curve. The most common and oft seen socially accepted norms, which encompass the majority of the curve, are those professed and followed by mainstream society.

Premarital sex is something that has been around as long as humans have been around. According to a USA Today article, a study finds that about ninety five percent of Americans have had premarital sex. With the Catholic population in American being about twenty five percent, it is safe to assume that most Catholics are not following the teachings of the Church to a tee. It is easy to say that it is the current generations that are acting more promiscuous because they are getting married later in life but the study was conducted including people that were born as far back as the 1940s. With this premarital sex it seems as though even those who believe they are good Catholics are blatantly ignoring the rules and teachings of the Church. For Catholic Christians, we must analyze our views according to culture and how the Church can capitalize on the opportunity. Catholics also must recognize the transformation of culture in relation to religion and, finally, respond to the issue.

Deviance, by definition is “a violation of any social rule” (Thio, et al., 2013., pg. 3), however, many sociologists are beginning to look at the violation as not strictly a negative consequence, but could rather deviance could be positive, such as Martin Luther King Jr. he violated rules of norms of society, by devoting himself to helping others, no matter the cost. Likewise, other African Americans have struggled for many years, even centuries to strive to become an equal. Over the years, they have applied their hope to Democratic partisanship in hope that they would strive to fight alongside them. Unfortunately, the hoped outcome has disappointed the group and without support, a culture or group of people will fail. Take a look at the

The four theories of deviance are The Learning Theory, The Strain Theory, The Social-Bond Theory and the Labeling Theory. These theories alone can explain the reasoning behind someone’s deviant behavior. But, in There Are No Children Here we see all of these theories being demonstrated. This lets us have an understanding of exactly why we are seeing the deviant behavior that we are.

Advantage of Deviancy The advantages of the deviancy is that you are able to do and fight what you think is right or good for you and for others. Not every violations are wrong, there are just some things that other countries or culture don’t tolerate or accept like when women participate in public spaces in society was deviance but now it’s norm. Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of positive deviance because he supported or fought for his emphatic trust in love, justice, forgiveness and wisdom and because of him, the leaders opened their eyes, dropped their agendas and supported him. Disadvantage of Deviancy

In order to gain a better understanding of Sociological Perspective of Deviance it is important to understand the broad consensus of behavior and its place in society. Situational deviance pertains to a group who engages in behavior that is considered “non- defiant and acceptable “however the behavior is still viewed as societally deviant. “Bad” deviance pertains to criminal behavior such as murder, rape, theft, and physical, mental or emotional abuse inflicted on

An example for deviance that could be positive for society is an individual driving along and stopping when they see a car crash. A few years ago a volunteer firefighter (Chris Pratt) saw a car that was burning from a crash. He immediately stopped and pulled the child from the burning car, without any gear or protection for his own body. His actions can be considered deviant by society because his actions to save the child are way beyond what society would expect from any citizen. The majority of people would just call 911 and stand back out of the way until help arrived.

Since the time of Christ, Christians have thought premarital sex to be a sin. Ancient Christians use to believe that "marriage was a second rate choice but if one lacked self control, he had to take

They see the overwhelming importance given to sexual attractiveness in the media-one study estimated that the average teenager ahs witnessed nearly 14,000 sexual encounters on television- yet they also hear their parents and religious advisers telling them that sex is wrong. As a result, many young people begin having sex without really intending to and without taking precautions against pregnancy.

Over many years, the views of premarital sex have been becoming increasingly more tolerant. The whole reasoning behind why sex was created is lost in the minds of society and used for pleasure and own physical satisfaction. There are negative consequences for these actions leading to guilt, depression, and numbness to intimate relationships. Having strong parental influence can also strongly affect the outcomes of adolescence and causal sex. Additionally, marriage can be