Deviance.
crinreandsocialconlrol
'Deviant
behavior-rr
is behaviourthat
r 96i)
p e o p l es o l a b e l , (' B e c k e 1
rls
t
to
I
)e
' s o m e ti me s
I a i n ' t s o s h o w ho' s got ere
a right to say when a man is crazy and
when he ain't. SometimesI think it ain't
none of us pure crazy and ain'L none of
us pure sane until the balanceof us talks
him that-a-wav,it's like it ain't so mr-rch
what a t'ellowdoes,but it's the way the
majority of folks is looking at him when
h e d o e si t . ' ( F a u l k n e r1 9 3 0 )
Labelling theory
Interarctionistapproachesto deviancehave
been deveiopecllnto ltrbellingtheory.Its
founding ligure is Floward S. Becker,rvhose
r,r,orkin the 1960s fbcusedattention on
lvhat becamethe labellingapproachto
deviance.r\t its mos[ basic,labellingtheory
involvesa number of tairly simple ideas:
* Deviance(and crime) harveto be
lvitnessedby others.
"l' Certain perceptionsof the act have to
b e ma d e .
ent
n
c
IS
ln
n
l
v
(s.
;Of
ield
see
:orlr
o
t'. It has to be labelledor delinedas deviant
by ot,hers.
* The person committing the act has
to recognizeand acceptthat
eventr-rally
both the act and they thenrselvesare
d e v i a n t.
* l'tre peoplewitnessingand perceiving
the act seethe personcornmitt.ingit as
d e v i a n t,
involved
in
To illustrate
the orocesses
l abel l i ng,
consi der
a youngperson
. vethreei nterpret abreaki ng
a w i ndowGi
thosethatse e
ti onsof thi sact,i ncl udi ng
the act as deviantand thosethat do not.
'On
becominga
In a well-knorvnarticle,
mari j uana user' ,B ecker(i 963) i l l ustr at es
the labelling approach to the processof
becomingdeviant. Using mariiuana does
not only involve the physiologicaleffectsof
the drr-rg,it also inrrolvessocial processes:
the ner,vuser learns or is socializedinto
appropriatebehaviottralresponsesto the
drug. This can involve body posture.
clothing and, importantly, the language
in which the experienceo[ the drug is
described(seeIn Focusbelow).
Those who can remernberlirst smoking
a cigarettcor drinking alcohol will be able
even tcl
to recall similar sociarlprocesses,
cough,
be sicl<
the extent that the desireto
in
or a dislikeof the taste is suppr:essed
'cool'
peers.
in front of
order to maintain
In the carseoi marijuana use (an illegai
activity), furthcr dimensionsthan peer
group expectirtionsare involved.The
activity must be secretand hidden from
'conventiona['world. Usersare
the outside
marginarland reintbrce their identity
strongly with eeichother, to the extent that
'normal' ancl rnorally
their activity is
'carcer' lbllowed
is
iustilied.A deviant
where lifestyle,occupation elntlsocialroles
come to revolvearound the deviant activity.
6 g- cameon like I had turned on
ffi[smokedmarijuana]many times
& before.vou know.I didn't want to
seem like a punk to this cat. See,like I
didn't hnorv the first thing about it - how
to smoke it, or what was going to happen,
or what.
I just watched him like a hawk - I
didn't take my eyesotl him for a second,
B ecker(19 63)
S ource:
€*':
Approach
Anlnteractive
Sociology
This might carry on until caught by lawenforcementauthorities.A {ine or imprisonment resultsin a differentawarenessof
th e d ru g -ta k i n ga ct. The publ i c di spl al ' of
disapproval[hrough the courts and prison
cells with locks and bars brings home to
the actor the signi{icanceof their act as
deviant. After punishment,this awareness
of the implicationsof their deviancecan
drive them further into the illegal drugtaking world. For example,they may lose
'drop
out' of
their yoband eventually
mainstream society,further reinforcing
deviant identity and themselvesas
' o u ts i d e rs ' .
Edwin N[, Lemert (1972) referredto the
early stages,when the act is engagedin
among peersu,'ithlittle awarenessof
society''sattitude, as printurydevinnce.
After apprehensionand punishment by the
is continued this
authorities.if the de'u,iance
of the impliawareness
dimension
of
added
ts
det'iance.
cations secondaru
Evaluating
labelling
essence,it is the lack of a strutcturalcontext
such as social classand 5rouththat means
there is a missing dimension to labelling
theory's explanations,Closelvconnectedto
this is the failure to recognizethe power of
some groups to apply labelslo others. Such
themes were illustrated in a study of illegal
drug users in Notting Hill, London carried
out by Jock Y oung (1971). The hippy dr ugtakers r'vereseen as the deviants by the
policewho representedthe establishment.
The po'rverdimension is involved as the
policehave pon'ersof arrest and prosecution rn'hichresultsin the deviant label
being more successfullyappliedto the
hi ppi es.
protesterscaused
Whyhaveantimotorway
in termsof conventional
son'ledifficulties
processes?
labelling
theory
Labellingtheory has offereda useful insight
'.q
I(en Plummer's defenceof laben9i,
into the processesof becomingdeviant
theory
through an action approach.This can be
contrastedlvith more structural approaches I(en Plummer (),979) takesissuewith
labellingtheory's critics lbr failing to
rvhich look at large-scalecultural, political
and economic forceswhich createdeviance. recognizethe real nature of its task.
This was to examine the social processes
There is some attraction to the labelling
governingthe nature, emergence,appliapproachr,r'ithits emphasison peopleas
of labels.In this
cation and consequences
active agentsin their socialworlds, rather
partial theory
is
a
theory
sense,labelling
than helplesspuppetsor robots subjectto a
which
tradition,
interactionist
within the
grand-scalesocialforce such as capitalism
an
through
seessocietyas constructed
which is beyond their control. The descrip(body
postures,
gestures
exchangeof
have plausibility
tions of labellingprocesses
closenessand touch), symbolic communiand a certain common-senseappeal,
cation (clothesand tallc)and negotiated
Hor,tever, critics have pointed to the
meaningsbetweenpeople.
weaknessesof labellingtheory in a number
',ve
The importance of issuesof power and
of areas. Labelling theory implies that
inequality at the structural level are not
are all potentially deviant,but does not
ignored or underplayed,rather they are not
adequatelyexplain why some engagein
part of labellingtheory's analysis,but such
deviant acts and others do not. In other
within the
issuescan be accommodated
peopleto commit
words, what ntotivntes
labelling framework. Beckerhimself does not
deviant acts2Using Becker'sstudy of
claim that labelsthemselvesare the root
marijuana users,there is a sound analysis
of the processof becomingdeviant, but no
cause of deviant behaviour.The transition
explanation of why some are in that
from primary to secondarydevianceis a
position to be labelledin the first place.In
complex processfull of contingencies,so
:,
1 a
r
-,t'i:"
,.i.*t-#ffi'
1
i.i
't'1'l.l
Peviance.
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negotiableor
labelscan bc pror,'isioua[,
rcjected.
P re c k e(1
r 9 6 3 ) re c ogni zes[he pol verutrd
p o l i ti c a id i m e r-i s i oinn the l abel l i ngpro(ess
lt,hen he savs:
'ln
a d c l i ti o nto re c o gni zi ngthat del ,i ancc:
i s c re a te db y th e responscs
ol ' pcopl eto
p a rL i c u l a rk i n d s o { 'behavi our,
by l " he
l a b e l l i n go f th a t b e harr,' i our
as devi ant.
lve must also l<eepin mincl that the rnles
c re a te da n d ma i n ta i nedby such l abel l i ng
are no[ universallyagreredto. Instead,
[h e y a re th e o b j c c tof confl i ctand
d i s a g re e me n p
t,a rt oi ' the pol i ti ci i lprocess
o f s o c i e ty .'(B e c k e r196 l )
l't,hicirharl tailecito derallvrth cc-rre
issr-res
of
pctverand i ncqual i t;.:Largeareaso [
dcriiiince.sr.rchas vioicnce againstwonten
and robberli are noL tlcait rvith. F-[on'ever,
l abc[[i ngthc' crynever sct out to ot f er a
rrrrivcr'.srrl
cxpIanartion[br every [<nownfbrm
oi crirne.Thc tasl<\,vasto examineareasol
social lit'cwhere the processes
of labelling
wL'remost applicable.In the study of the
rnassmeciia,labelling theory has made
.r vcrli useful contribution to the analysis
o i ' m o r a l p a n i c s 't h r o u g h t h e a p p r o a c h
(see
nntplil'icrtfiort
knon'n as devinnc'e
Chaptcr 12, rllrrssntetlia).
A n o th e r c ri ti c i s mi s that o[ deal i ngw i th
areaso1'sociallit'ethat in sonresenses
celebratedeviance.Dcviants[hemselvesare
portrayedas larger than lil'e,exotic and
c o l o u rfu li n c o n tra s tt o the more bori ng,
straight. conlorming majority.Certainly a
glarnceat.some of the studiesoi male gays
(L a u d f{ u m p h re y s ),h r-rstl ers
and beats
(P o i s k y ).p ro fe s s i o n acri
l rni nal s(Lauri e
Taylor) and drug-users(Becl<cr,
Young)
confirms this irnpressionof a fbmr of
vicarriousfascination',vittrand anthropoIo g i c a lv o y e u ri s mo l ' an i n[eresti ngand
colourtbl socialr,vorld.Clriminalsancl
gangslersbecomelarger than lil'e'fbli<
heroes'rvho are in some sernses
hitting bacl<
at the oppressivenature o[ conventional
sclciety.
l n t h i s c o n t e x t ,A l v i n C o u l d n e r( | . 9 7 1 )
contcmptr,rously
describeclthe worl<of
'l.lnderdog
Becherand others als
Sociology'
Ethnomethodology
As indicartedin a previoussec[ion,
approachdeviancein a
ethnomethodologists
differentway to traditional positivist
approaches.Unlike positivists,they are not
concernedto explain the causesof deviance
as reflectedby statisticsor socialsurveys
or to developan unclerstandingof r,r,/ty
devianceoccurs.Rather they are concernecl
to examinehorvactionsor acts come to be
detinedas deviarntand/or criminal, or, nondeviarntand/or non-crirninal.The processing
as the
of the deviant through such aigencies
policeand courts is seenetsthe appropriate
area lor sl.r-rdy,
So ethnomethodologistshave
lookedat juvenilejusticein America
(Cicourel7976), how juries arrive at their
verdictsand the role oi'coronersat inquests
i nto possi bl esui ci cl ecases(A tki nson t 97t t ) .
Crime
'a,l/
i.'!
LIp to the I 9 70s, it cor-rlcl
be argued that
the sociologicalstudy of fernalesand crime
was almost non-existent.Carol Smarrt.a
Ilritish sociologist,nrasone of the {irst to
plarcedevianceand crime within a leminist
p e rs p e c ti v ei n, 1 9 7 (r.S he poi ntedto the
predominanceof male crirninologistsancl
s o c i o l o g i s ts
o t'd e v i a nceexpl ai ni ngcri nrc'
and cri mi nal sas tt mal e phcnome non'
Smart and other leminist criminologists
developedsuch themcs into a general
feministcritique of male-dorninatcd(they
'malestreatm')
sociology,as n'ell as
carllthis
hi ghl i ghti ngthe di storti onthat male
accountsgive to theoriesand studiesof
crime and deviiince.