We are different. There are a number of ways in which people are different from one another, including age, sex, race, education, or status. There is a great diversity in terms of behaviour, dress and clothing styles, or attitudes. Often what we mean by deviance is simply diversity. But what is deviance? Is there deviance at all?
At the simpliest level, it refers to something, that is different from something else deviants are not like the others, they behave differently, or at least most people think so. But deviance goes beyond this everyday observation, that people and behaviour are different from one another. We can observe difference in styles of dress for instance that are not deviant. But taking the fashion example, the colours that someone wears may be different and considered deviant if they are so different as to be considered in" bad taste". But it is relative again because who can say what good taste is? But let s presume we can! In this case we can call it deviance, when colours of a dress clash with one another, or when the clothing is not suitable to the occassion. Wearing a swimmdress in a theathre would be considered deviant . Some people would never wear green and blue together, and would consider it deviant in the context of fashion. I love green and blue together actually. So am i deviant? Colours that clash is a problem only for some people and not others. Youth often prefers to dress in styles seem to value highly clashing colours, and unusual styles of clothing and hair, such as punks for instance. This suggests that deviance is a relative thing that depends on the people who define it.
Deviance is also not static or constant but changes constantly . What was outrageous earlier is perfectly acceptable today, like to smoke or to wear trousers for a woman. So there is no universal agreement on what behaviour, people, or conditions are deviant. Yet most persons would say that they know deviance when they see it. We know pretty much what it is, until someone asks us to define it. Deviance is taken for granted, as everyone agreed that certain violations of rules are abnormal and others are not. Everyone is presumed to know how to act according to these universal values, violation of these values is considered deviance. The sources of these standards are moral values usually of the middle class. Deviance might be highly valuated , there can be positive as well as negative deviance, as of the genius .
In common sense deviance is behaviour that is not average. This assumes that whatever it is that most people do is the correct way. It can lead to the faulty conclusion, that the minority is always defined as deviant. If we asked some people for a list of things they consider deviant, these lists would vary from one another sometimes drastically. Yet deviance is not an individualistic judgement. This way deviance can be alcoholism, suicide, crime, mental disorder, homosexuality, drug addiction, hooliganism, or being Yewis h. These lists include behaviour(like crime) condition(like homosexuality) and types of person (like Jewish people).
Any conduct can be considered deviant, if it violates some norm. In this sense deviance is not a unique type of behaviour but, rather common behaviour that happens to offend some group. Because norms are relative, deviance is relative. This is way there is an almost endless variety of acts that are considered deviant depending on the conditions and circumstances. This way we could call deviance such acts as prostitution, gambling, nudism, or the pacifists, hippies. There is nothing deviant in an act actually, just when relating to a certain norm . What is considered deviant may depend on the groups that are powerful enough to enforce their norms to others. Since norms are properties of groups, it is not surprising that different groups have different norms . What is deviant in one group may be perfectly acceptable in another one.
But what is norm? Norms are learned and transmitted in groups from generation to generation. Norms don t simply exist. They are created, maintained. People learn to accomodate to the ideas and beliefs of the group which they belong to. This way they see the world not just whith their eyes alone, but they also see through their cultural and other group experiences. Norms are very important part of the societies from small tribal groups to modern societies. It is one of the powers that makes a society. In modern societies group norms may differ radically, such as punks differ from Jehova s Witnesses. As a result of this it can cause serious personal conflicts and hostility. But also the norms a person acquires from the family don t always and neccessarily agree with other groups that person lives in, like the group of children he plays whith, or workmates. A certain group like friends may become more important to the person than others, and because of this he starts to conform to the behaviour of the group which he feels more closely to himself. Many other sources of norms are very important like social class, occupation, neighbourhood, or school.
Often there are social groups that don t share the values which are shared by the society which they are a part of. This way there will be a "culture within a culture" a subculture group. Subculture is a collection of norms, values that are different from the dominant culture, so it is neccesarily in opposition to the larger culture. Some subcultural views of deviance can be summed up as "different stokes for different folks". When a number of persons have similar problems with the dominant culture, they make a subcultural group. This way subcultures can represent a kind of solution to the problems of the dominant culture. The essence of subculture is the community. People gather because they are similar to each other and different from the others who reject them. They feel safe in the community where they belong, acts are done in corporation with others.( Vandalism is rarely done by a single guy for instance. Stealing is usually comitted in groups.) There is an ancient and basic need in everyone to belong to somebody or somewhere, and because "similis simili gaudet" the subculture provides a justification for deviance.
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