Deviance describes any behavior that breaks social standards, thus receiving disapproval by most people. Deviance behavior can either be unlawful or non-criminal acts. Deviant can be defined using different acts and personalities such as prostitution, sexuality difference, stealing, cross-dressing, gambling, alcoholism, and other vices. An action can be defiant in some cultures while it is embraced by others. The circumcision of women in places such as Malaysia is considered a social norm and accepted while in America, it is a vice and a crime which may result in law implications. The environment has a large role to play in the norms that people chose to violate. The environmental agents which facilitate learning norms to obey or breaks are parents, teachers, friends, media and others (Reinecke, Stemmler, Sünkel, Schepers, Weiss, Arnis, & Wittenberg, 2013). There are also internal control factors which determine why people break some norms, for instance, conscience, morality, integrity, and values. Deviance can be explained in different ways, for instance, sociological perspectives.
There are sociological perspectives that can be used to explain deviant behavior. The labeling theory states that practice is deviant only if society labels it. The labels are formed by powerful people in the community such as judges, medical doctors, police officers, and politicians. The differential association theory describes how the environment decides the norms that people choose to violate. The approach describes that criminal behaviors are learned through interacting with other people (Reinecke, Stemmler, Sünkel, Schepers, Weiss, Arnis, & Wittenberg, 2013). Control theory describes some factors both internal and external which control the behavior of a person. Laws, morality, and integrity are some of the controlling factors. Some deviant behavior results from social inequalities that individuals face.
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Social inequalities are caused by various factors in society. Unemployment, for instance, cause inequality, where some people have stable jobs and able to provide for families, while others struggle to get basic needs. Other contributors are gender inequality with most societies being patriarchal; thus men being favored than women; social class factors and healthcare access. The disadvantaged individuals are likely to have deviant behavior, for instance, theft, as the individual tries to compensate what they lack.
Reference
Reinecke, J., Stemmler, M., Sünkel, Z., Schepers, D., Weiss, M., Arnis, M., ... & Wittenberg, J. (2013). The development of deviant and delinquent behavior over the life course in the context of processes of social inequalities.
