My Opinion and Experience of Deviant Behavior

Everyone, at some point in their life, has most likely committed some deviant act. This isn’t as inconceivable as it may seem. Deviance is relative to different societal groups and different cultures. Deviance refers to any violation of norms, which varies significantly. We encounter deviant behavior every day, particularly on the news. On any given day, you could hear about harmful deviant acts, such as theft and murder. Even as a high school student, you hear about deviant acts constantly, like that test that someone cheated on. No matter what, deviant acts will always be present in society, because people will always follow norms and deem those who do not follow norms as atypical.

The most deviant behavior I have ever been personally exposed to is when my best friend came out as homosexual. Deviant behavior is varied based on culture and societal values, so to some homosexuality is not considered deviant. However, for me I was raised in a Catholic household that didn’t have a problem with homosexuals, per se, but had problems with certain aspects of homosexuality. My parents were both raised in households that taught that a “normal” household had a man, his wife, and their kids. However, now society is changing, and many people’s opinions are changing along with it. The Church is not reforming its beliefs anytime soon. My parents consider homosexuality a deviant behavior because they chose to be the way they are, to go against societal norms of a man and woman being together and settling down and having kids.

My best friend coming out as homosexual harmed no one, physically; however as high school kids going to a private high school, harmed him more emotionally than anything. Kids can be mean, especially kids that don’t understand what someone has been through and where they are coming from. Some boys at my school bullied him just because they were scared he would come on to them, that was not the case at all though. My friend tried to fit in, but other kids at our school just couldn’t accept him, because they believed being a homosexual wasn’t acceptable.

Deviance is inevitable, however there is nothing wrong with deviance alone. However, people’s reactions to deviance that lead to problems. Harmful deviant behaviors should not be tolerated, however deviant behaviors that are not harmful could be perceived differently. Though society will never be free of deviant behaviors, the most efficient way of dealing with them will require many fundamental changes. 

Works Cited

1. Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. Free Press.
2. Chambliss, W. J., & Seidman, R. (1982). Law, Order, and Power. Addison-Wesley.
3. Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2011). Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Wadsworth Publishing.
4. Downes, D. M., & Rock, P. (2007). Understanding Deviance: A Guide to the Sociology of Crime and Rule-Breaking. Oxford University Press.
5. Henslin, J. M. (2017). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Pearson.
6. Jensen, G. F., Rojek, D. G., & Steinberg, M. (2016). Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological Perspective. Routledge.
7. Merton, R. K. (1957). Social Theory and Social Structure. Free Press.
8. Schur, E. M. (1971). Labeling Deviant Behavior: Its Societal Reaction and the Labeling Theory. Harper & Row.
9. Thompson, W. E., & Bynum, T. S. (2015). Introduction to the Sociology of Deviance. Routledge.
10. Vold, G. B., Bernard, T. J., & Snipes, J. B. (2019). Theoretical Criminology. Oxford University Press.