Deviance Exam 2 Set 1

Front 1

-What conditions have to be preexisting for a deviant identity to form

Back 1

• Givens
– People are a member of a deviant group
– They have been labeled as a deviant by others and the definition is agreed upon
– Others in society will have changed begun to change their interpretation of you and your actions
• Retrospective interpretation – Redefine previous acts and behaviors in light of the new label; What concept is this similar to from our previous section?

Front 2

Results of having a deviant identity

Back 2

– Spoiled identities- a damaged reputation
– Possible to be subject to the Dynamics of Exclusion

Front 3

-Master status-What a master status is useful for

Back 3

– Auxiliary traits
• Traits that an individual is expected to have based on their master status
• The presence of these traits can also be used to assume the presence of a master status
– Master Status is also useful in explaining how a person makes the leap from primary to secondary deviance

Front 4

• Primary Deviance

Back 4

– Enactment of the deviant behavior
– Polygenetic – can be a result of any combination of reasons
– Its only important how people react to the deviant act of label

Front 5

Secondary deviance

Back 5

A person who’s life and identity is organized around being deviant if you commit primary deviance and are labeled deviant-> the person redefines who they are to become deviant -> match their label do different things to manage their label.

– “The secondary deviant, as opposed to his actions, is a person whose life and identity are organized around the facts of deviance” (Lemert, 1972)

– The actions the deviant must take to deal with the societal reaction to their primary deviance, must manage their stigma.

– A person redefines themselves and, adopts certain roles, and associates with other people (Connection to master status)

Front 6

The inherent contradictions of giving person a deviant identity

Back 6

• Stigmas place

– There is an inherent contradiction in this process

– We sanction and stigmatize a deviant to try and stop their actions

– When we sanction an individual for committing a crime they are forced to only associate with those who are already deviant

– This reinforces and enhances their deviance

Front 7

Eating Disorder/Anorexia

Back 7

Ethnographic studies have found that anorexics/bulimics are strong conformists

• Tend to have above average grades, clean rooms

• Families tend to be concerned with promoting “all-American” image

– Enmeshed families – Families that are unnaturally close; overprotective

• Internalize the “American lifestyle”

– Media pushes the image of unnaturally thin or fit individuals as ideal


– Most ads are directed at females but this is and has been changing


» Examples: Thinspiration

Front 8

anorexia/ eating disorders
primary deviance

Back 8

– Anorexia – Not eating, Bulimia – Binge and purge
– Usually onset occurs simultaneously with a major life disruption
• When life begins to be uncontrollable they latch on to something they can be in control of
– Eating is a purely personal habit that is almost always under the persons own control
– As those with eating disorders are attempting to conform they turn to the only thing they can control in times of crisis
– As they lose weight they will be complemented on their new look and the behavior will be reinforced

Front 9

eating disorders
secondary deviance

Back 9

– The emaciated look or the ability to consume huge amounts of food without gaining weight will begin to cause people to notice and a label will apply
– To deal with these labels they redefine themselves as being “naturally” anorexic/bulimic

Front 10

eating disorders
role engulfment

Back 10

• Role Engulfment
– Defining a role as so important that it displaces all other roles
– They begin to seek out others with eating disorders for tips of how to be a better anorexic or bulimic
• Pro Ana websites
• At this stage the deviant is labeled and the label has been internalized
– The deviant will only interact with others through the lens of this status
– People will expect auxiliary traits of those with eating disorders to be present

Front 11

The Steps to the adoption of a new identity

Back 11

• Steps to an adoption of a new identity
– Conformist – Internalize the goals of society
– Primary Deviance – Commit some type of deviant act
– Secondary Deviance – Be labeled a deviant
– Adoption of a new identity – Accept that label

Front 12

changes that must occur in order to get a new identity

Back 12

• In order for a person to adopt a new identity a person has to change on two levels
– Public
• Exists in the outside world
• Social status is defined and promoted
• Status cues exist in this level
– Private
• Internal to the person
• Within this level there must be two cognitive processes that occur for an adoption of a new identity
– 1. Individuals must recognize the current status is inappropriate.
– 2. Individuals must locate a new move apt. status.

Front 13

new identity
-How people know they need a new status and the mechanisms that make this possible

Back 13

• Status Cues
– Some feature of the social environment that contains information about a particular status or status dimension
– Are transmitted in two ways
• Actively – transmission occurs through interaction
• Passively – Information is contained in the environment and “discovered”

• Recognition
– One must recognize that a status is no longer appropriate
– We come to this realization by watching for status cues
– Status cues are not recognized by all those with a certain set of characteristics
• The subjective definition of when a status does not fit makes this possible
• Self-evident – The degree to which a person who posses a certain sets of characteristics is aware that a status applies to them
• Active cues are better for recognition than passive
• An individual accepts a new status from those available
– The more options a person has the harder it is to select the most apt
• Ex. Obese- medical condition or traditional reasons
• Once a person has selected and a new status they will internalize it and accept the deviant label

Front 14

Techniques of neutralization

Back 14

– A technique used to resolve the difference between what people say and what they do
– Justification made by the deviant for their actions that are not deemed as valid in the legal system
– Also known as rationalizations

Front 15

5 examples of techniques of neutralization

Back 15

• Denial of Responsibility
– Deviant acts were committed due to acts beyond their control
– *I couldn’t help myself*…the donut was right there on top of the trash! I had to eat it!

• Denying Injury
– Argue that nobody was actually hurt from the deviant act
– *No harm, no foul*; The only person I harm when I use drugs is myself.

• Denying of the victim
– The assertion that since no single victim can be found, so there is no crime
• The only ones hurt by downloading songs are the giant corporations
– Can also assert that the victim was asking for it
• The case of David Park
• Appeal to Higher Loyalties
– The deviant behavior was used to help a friend or a deserving party
• *I let her cheat off my test because she is a friend*

• Condemnation of the Condemners
– Asserting that those that determined your actions to be deviant are corrupt and have no moral authority to do so
• *The collegiate system is systematically unfair to poor students so it doesn’t matter if I cheat on my test*
• A common technique of neutralizations for protest groups
– E.L.F., NOW, NRA

Front 16

Accounts

Back 16

– Accounts are designed to normalize our behavior
– Deviants use accounts to explain their actions

Front 17

accounts
examples and types
excuses

Back 17

– Offender admits the act but doesn’t feel as though the deserve the blame
• Used to relieve the deviants of their accountability
– Examples
– Four methods used to excuse deviant behavior
• Appeals to Biological drives – *I couldn’t stop myself*
• Appeals to Accident – *He fell on the knife 32 times*
• Appeals to defeasibility - *I thought my roommate turned in my paper, Ill just run home and get it”
• Scapegoating – *The cop pulled me over on my way to campus and I missed the test*

Front 18

accounts
examples and types
justifications

Back 18

– Offender admits the act and agrees it is morally reprehensible, but wishes to be excused from committing this particular act due to circumstances beyond their control
– Examples
• Sad Tales – Your current behavior is justified because of some aspect of your life previously or concurrently with the deviant behavior
– *I’m only stealing this bread because my child is hungry*
– *I beat my children because I was beat by my father*
• Need for Self-Fulfillment – The only way the deviant can become a “complete” person is to commit some deviant act
– *I drive better when I'm drunk!*

Front 19

-Aligning Actions

Back 19

– An attempt to realign deviant behavior with expectations of the community

Front 20

Disclaimer

Back 20

- are conversational tactics that people invoke before they launch ahead into something commonly judged as inappropriate
– Hedge – an assertion that your future behavior may fail *I'm not sure this is going to work but…*

– Credentializing – You assert you are the opposite of what you are to do *I'm not racist, some of my best friends are black*

– Sin Licenses – The deviant asserts that the situation justified their deviant behavior *007 and his license to kill*

– Cognitive Disclaimer – A warning to the person that your next action may be considered odd or deviant *This may not make sense to you but…*

– Appeals for Suspension of Judgment – The deviant tries to prevent the individual from judging until they know the entire situation *Listen to me before you get mad…*

Front 21

Traditional explanation and why it is not acceptable
rape

Back 21

• Traditionally rape has been “explained” by using a medical model
– Medical model – dysfunction can be explained by physical or emotional shortcomings in the individual
• These models rely on the presence of symptoms that will lead to a predictable outcome; if you have these symptoms you will have the sickness
– Therefore, rapists should exhibit symptoms that are present in all other rapists
– However, no common symptoms have been identified and only 5% of rapists were deemed to be “psychotic” at the time of the offense

Front 22

medical model of rape- what does it mean

Back 22

– It means that rape behavior is a learned behavior and that the deviant also learns vocabularies or motive to rid themselves of stigma
– Similar to the reactions of deviants acts changing over time, by situation, and by type of offender

Front 23

-2 categories of rapists and the difference between

Back 23

– Deniers – attempt to justify the rape by using techniques to make the woman appear culpable for her own rape - Justifiers
– Admitters – admit the crime happened but attempt to explain the act in such a way that allows them to retain a semblance of moral integrity

Front 24

5 techniques rapists use to rid themselves of labels

Back 24

• All techniques, however, tend to say that the women themselves were responsible for their rape
– 1. Women as seductress
• Women were willing or even enthusiastic participants
• “They asked for it and now I’m in trouble?”

– 2. Women mean “Yes” when they say “No”
• She didn’t resist enough to really not want it
• “It was like she was saying rape me”

– 3. Most women eventually relax and enjoy it
• They assert that most women have the fantasy of being raped
• The rapists assert that biological reactions are proof on enjoyment
• “Once we got into it, she was OK”
– 4. Nice girls don’t get raped
• They blame the woman for already existing outside of sexual norms
• They infer sexual practices from activities the woman participates in
– “She was a waitress and you know how they are”

– 5. Only a minor wrong doing
• They admitted to a small transgression but still place the blame of the rape on the woman
• “I did something stupid. I pulled a knife on her and I hit her... I shouldn’t have all this time for going to bed with a broad”

Front 25

-3 excuses for acts
rape

Back 25

– Goal is to give reasons that made their action likely, but not justifiable
– 1. The use of alcohol and drugs
• *I never could have done it if I was sober*
• Excusers rarely said that the victim was under the influence of narcotics as that would be an attempt to justify their behavior

– 2. Emotional Problems
• The rapist says that he was under stress and just had an emotional “break”
• Research does not show that rapists were under any more or more sever stress than those that do not rape
• These excusers almost never labeled themselves as “chronically” mentally ill, they believe that there is something minor wrong with them and that it can be fixed with relative ease
• “The fact that I'm a rapist makes me different. Rapists aren't all there. They have problems. It was wrong so there must be a reason why I did it. I must have a problem.”
– 3. Nice Guy Image
• They admit to making a serious mistake but that’s all it was; their behavior otherwise is normal
• Serves the dual purpose of
– Expression of guilt
– Signals the listener that the event was not part of who the rapists is and should not be considered
– “Physically they enjoyed the sex [rape]. Once they got involved, it would be difficult to resist. I was always gentle and kind until I started to kill them. And the killing was always sudden, so they wouldn't know it was coming

Front 26

-6 motivations for rape

Back 26

– 1. Revenge and Punishment
• Men raped women as retribution for transgressions from other women
• Most of the time the men who had revenge or punishment as motivations for rape did not “punish” the woman they were mad at
– Collective reliability – each member of a group is held responsible for the actions of all other members
• In these types of rape men were forcing women into sexual standards that the rapists themselves were not expected to hold; when the women failed to keep these standards they motivated the men to gain revenge or punish
• Also used to punish other men; the rape of their wives or girlfriends was an insult to their manhood
– 2. an added bonus
• They had other motivations such as robbery and burglary; rape was just a crime of oppurtunity
• “I wasn’t thinking about sex. But when she said she would do anything not to get hurt, probably because she was pregnant, I thought, ‘why not.”

– 3.sexual access
• Men view sexual access as a given, when it is denied men will take it
• “I think I was really pissed off at her because it didn’t go as planned. I could have been with someone else. She led me on but wouldn’t deliver…I had a male ego that must be fed.”
• 4. Impersonal Sex and Power
– Some rapist craved the power that came along with the rape/seeking total control
– Forcing a woman to climax despite her pain and abhorrence of the assailant makes the rapist feel powerful; the rapists has taken control of the one thing that women have traditionally had the most power over, sex and their bodies

• 5. recreation and adventure
– Often sighted as motivations for gang rap
– The knowledge that the rapists was doing something wrong enhanced the pleasure and provides cohesiveness to a group
– “It was exciting to get away with it (rape), just being able to beat the system, not women. It was like doing something illegal and getting away with it.”

• 6. Feeling Good
– Some men actually took delight in the act of rape and this was motivation enough
– “Rape is like smoking. You can’t stop once you start.”

Front 27

Classic rape situation

Back 27

– A sudden violent attack by a stranger in a deserted public place after which the victim is expected to provide evidence of the attack, usually report to the police

Front 28

Rape induced marriage

Back 28

• Some women in Taiwan marry their rapists in order to negate the stigma that comes with being a rape victim in Taiwanese culture
– This is a viable option to settle court cases involving rape. If the victim marries the rapists then the assailant does not need to go to jail and the victim is not stigmatized