Deviance

 

            Deviance is an act or behaviour which goes against community’s social expectations. Each community or sub-community has its norms, culture, practices et al. community’s values guide all these, rules and regulations (Aggleton, 1987, p. 3). Whenever any member decides to act against this set these values, rules and regulations, he or she is referred to as a defiant member. Each community has its unique way of punishing recalcitrant member. For example the member in subject can be evicted from that society together with his family members. In early years before slavery was abolished, chiefs in Africa used to sell defiant members in the society to traders who transported them to America where they worked on farms. Deviance strengthens community’s conformity with rules, laws and regulations. This is because if a member of that community happens to be deviant toward community’s values, the elders or those members who give the mandate of protecting its values and norms reminds everyone in the tribe about the laws using the example of the defiant guy (Dugan, 2002, p. 15). Deviance also strengthens bonds among the community social lifestyle. This is because members of the community tend to have a healthy relationship when evicting or dealing with a defiant member. They seem to gang up together and hold hands to one another and give a hostile reception to the rebellious person. Despite most people view deviant’s members within the community a negatively motivated or repellents to the standards, values, and norm of the society, the act of deviance can also result to liberation and change of community’s perceptions to certain criteria. For example, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Frank Du Bois among others were regarded as deviants members by the then ruling regimes, but due to their actions, they liberated the black race from slavery which was a plus. They also made their ruling regimes to recognize that the black race is also a humanity race just like theirs (Pfuhl & Henry, 1993, p. 30).

Several reasons make people be deviants within the community. Some of these reasons are the living conditions of some members of the community. This is because when a specific group of individuals feels segregated by others, they tend to repel any decision made by the other group. Such is because they don’t feel attached to the community. This makes them collides, and be viewed as opposers. Poverty is another reason which makes people deviate. Such is because the rich keeps on getting rich and poor remain in their status quo. The poor start developing a notion or perception that the rich makes them stay in such a state. The result is they repel and diverge their ideas to go against the rich. The rich on their side view them as deviants (Tomasson, 1985, p. 25). Apart from community social life, an act of deviance can also be a personal lifestyle. Such behaviours start when an individual develops a negative perception of another. One of them is when an individual becomes a chauvinist. He perceives and believes that male superiority is the strongest compared to female. This makes him repel any idea coming from any woman whether it’s right or wrong. The same applies to the lady who chooses to be feminists. The other category is when an individual feels superior to the other. He regards the other as inferior. Just like feminist and chauvinist, he or she handles the other persons view with rejections. Some people became deviant because their parents, guardians and role models are one. It motivates them as they find it pleasant with them (Wilkins, 2014, p. 52).

We can conclude that being defiant can result in a positive result or negative one. It is a state of mind. The fact that matters is how your intention and perception is toward the act. Therefore members of community, religion or any other race should not negatively give their deviants’ members with a harsh reception and treatments. They should first scrutinize their motive before passing their judgment. Others become deviant becomes their seniors are such therefore they also end up becoming one. The environment they have been living in had made them so, and sometimes it can be had to change them from such a situation.

 

 

References

Aggleton, P. (1987). Deviance. London: Tavistock.

Dugan, H. (2002). Deviance. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan Feminist Studies.

Pfuhl, E. H., & Henry, S. (1993). The deviance process. New York: A. de Gruyter.

Tomasson, R. F. (1985). Deviance.

Wilkins, L. T. (2014). Social deviance. Place of publication not identified: Routledge.