My Deviance In School

During high school, I switched schools. My school had its own way of doing things, as did the new school I moved to. One of which was the side of the stairs and hallways it was acceptable to walk on. At my previous school the norm (a rule or guideline regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable within a culture) was to walk on the left, but at my new school everyone walked on the right. I learned this the hard way when I started walking up the stairs on the left side. I was violating a folkway of the group and they were noticeably not happy about it. The students at my old school were a part of a primary group (the people who are most important to one’s sense of self). I was extremely close to them and valued their input on many different …show more content…
Nothing had happened before that would have labeled me as deviant, therefore it was primary. Although my deviance was mainly primary, I did experience a little bit of secondary deviance (the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being deviant) as well. I acknowledged that what I was doing was deviant but continued doing it anyway. The label of my deviant identity also stuck for the next few days because I kept getting looks from those that were in the stairwell, and a few people even brought it up days after it had …show more content…
In this theory, deviance is determined by social context. At my previous school I would not have been labeled as deviant because I was in agreement with the norms that were set up by the student body. In contrast, at my new school I was label deviant in that context because I did not follow the set up norms. Since I was aware of that label, I chose to move away from it and conform to the norms of my new peers. I did not want others to think of me as deviant. Deviance is relative. What is considered deviant behavior in one context may not be deviant on another. Being labeled as deviant can sometimes cause a person to modify their ways, as it did in my case. Deviance does not have to be something that has extreme consequences, like breaking a law, and it is something everyone