Blog#1: On the relativity of deviance: Outsiders for whom?

    Imagine the social groups that you are a part of. You might be part of a community of gamers, writers, or KPOP enthusiasts. You might also find yourself belonging to various student organizations within your school. You are also part of your own family. You have several friend groups that you identify with. If you are enrolled in the university, then congratulations, you are a member of the university community! Like you, all individuals belong to and identify with different social groups. Within these social groups, people are expected to act and behave a certain way based on the created and enacted rules and norms of the group.

    Norms help people to identify what behavior is expected of them by stating what acts are right, forbidden, and wrong. Members of student organizations may be expected to present themselves in modest clothing during events. Parents usually have unrealistic curfews for their kids. Members of a friend group or a clique may be encouraged to dress a certain way-- like wearing pink on Wednesdays.

Image clip from the film Mean Girls (2004) dir. Mark Waters. Photo from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/d0/1b/5dd01b0977da23e83a74c5922614bbe5.png

    When people deviate from or break norms, they are often seen as deviant from the point of view of the social group. They may use social controls to deal with deviant behavior. The uncomfortable stares that one gets from wearing revealing clothing inside a church, the rumors spread by one's friends because they talked to their exes, or being reprimanded by one's parents because one arrived late, are all sanctions for nonconformity. 

    But some deviant acts are not deviant to others. There are churches that are more lenient with clothing, some parents are okay with their children coming home late (or too early, or not at all!), and some friend groups are more open to the idea of dating each other's exes. Because social groups are formed in different contexts, the norms that they produce are also context-specific. Things that are normal for one may not be normal for others, or vice versa. Moreover, normal behavior in a certain social event, for example, carrying placards during a concert, may not be normal when done in a church worship service. Deviance, therefore, is relative. Whether one considers an act as deviant solely depends on the social contexts one finds themselves in. Sociologist Howard Becker (1963) explained the relativity of deviance by introducing to us the concept of an outsider.

"[O]utsiders"... refer to those people who are judged by others to be deviant and thus to stand outside the members of the group. (Becker, 1963)

    When people label someone as deviant, they may regard the person as an outsider. They are outsiders because they do not conform to what is deemed appropriate and “normal” for the group. Hence, the offender is not– or can’t be– part of the group. But Becker also argues that people labeled as outsiders may also see the offended group as outsiders. From the point of view of the supposed offender, the forbiddance to do the right, appropriate, or normal act, counts as deviance. Offenders and offended are eternally trapped in a game of “it’s not me, it’s you.”

Photo from: https://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/filestorage/not-breakup-ecard-someecards-share-image-1479832905.png

    Let's look at the act of killing, for example. Clearly, the act of killing is a deviant act. Many nations, groups, and religions consider killing not only as something deviant but also as a mortal sin. Moral, religious, and civil laws are very clear in imposing sanctions on those who have committed murder. Murderers are seen as outsiders by society. 

    Although killing is generally frowned upon by society, something about Duterte's War on Drugs which promotes extrajudicial (meaning, outside the law) killings and impunity (meaning, killers get away from sanctions) appeals to certain social groups. In a study conducted by Jayeel Cornelio and Erron Medina (2019), they found out that several Christian groups are actually supportive of the killings. Furthermore, they view these killings not only as "normal" and necessary, but also justified. These groups believe that the War on Drugs is God's way of eradicating "sinners," and cleansing the country of social ills. 

    We may view these Christians and other supporters of the drug war as outsiders, but they also view us in the same manner. We are outsiders to them because our norms dictate that extrajudicial killings and impunity are not right. We are outsiders because we do not follow their justification for their deviance. But who are we to say which acts are deviant or not?

    Because we belong to different social groups, come from different backgrounds, and are guided by different social norms, it is difficult to list down which acts are generally deviant. Becker reminds us that "we cannot effectively study deviant acts in isolation from their social contexts." When we study deviants and deviant acts, we should ultimately ask the question, for whom are they outsiders?

References:

Becker, H. (1963). The Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (reprint). Publisher. Free Press.

Cornelio, J., & Medina, E. (2019). Christianity and Duterte’s War on Drugs in the Philippines. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 20(2), 151-169.‌