Deviance In Society
CHAOS OF STRUCTURE: THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVIANCE IN MORAL CONFORMITY
Stephanie Lane Sutton
Humans are social animals. As people, we live in countless social structures, placing a strong emphasis on human relationships. As a society, we tend to separate ourselves from other animals, emphasizing intelligence and moral values. Most sociobiologists would chalk this up to a biological predisposition toward a structure of morals which isn’t consistent in other creatures – indeed, this moral structure has, seemingly through natural selection, encouraged us to build strong relationships in both family and work environments. However, it is likely that these moral structures are completely fabricated through social interaction alone.
After …show more content…
However, sociobiological theories do not make room for certain human behaviors we understand to happen naturally, such as mental illness or homosexuality. In this way, these behaviors are labeled as “deviant,” and considered to be counterproductive to society and/or the human race. In this way, discrimination or, at the very least, a lack of understanding toward these natural human behaviors becomes justified. Sociologists also make the same mistake when working under the Conflict and Functionalist theories. A Conflict or Functionalist sociologist could make the argument that homosexuality needs to be regarded as unethical in order to sustain an emphasis on family structure, which has been integral to most societies since the beginning of social …show more content…
Indeed, the 20th century was one of rapid change: in 1861, slavery was still legal in many American states and women were unable to vote; in 1961, the Civil Rights Movement was underway and women had not only been granted suffrage, but were conducting a Women’s Liberation movement of their own. In one hundred years, thousands of years of social structure had come undone, because humans no longer saw these structures as beneficial to society. With an increasing emphasis on industry and a decreasing emphasis on agriculture, race and gender roles were becoming not only obsolete, but harmful. For example, in the United States during WWII, most men who would have entered the work force were drafted to war. The social structure of sex that was in place, with women working at home and raising a family, no longer was beneficial to society, because industry was becoming crippled due to lack of workers and an increased demand for products. This sparked the short-lived “Rosie the Riveter” movement, where women were allowed to work in factories in large numbers, doing work normally deemed too dangerous for their sex. This is perhaps the most drastic example of social structure being overthrown for the benefit of change and demand – after WWII, women were encouraged to return home to raise families in order to fill the demand for a population spurt after the causalities of war. Before
Stephanie Lane Sutton
Humans are social animals. As people, we live in countless social structures, placing a strong emphasis on human relationships. As a society, we tend to separate ourselves from other animals, emphasizing intelligence and moral values. Most sociobiologists would chalk this up to a biological predisposition toward a structure of morals which isn’t consistent in other creatures – indeed, this moral structure has, seemingly through natural selection, encouraged us to build strong relationships in both family and work environments. However, it is likely that these moral structures are completely fabricated through social interaction alone.
After …show more content…
However, sociobiological theories do not make room for certain human behaviors we understand to happen naturally, such as mental illness or homosexuality. In this way, these behaviors are labeled as “deviant,” and considered to be counterproductive to society and/or the human race. In this way, discrimination or, at the very least, a lack of understanding toward these natural human behaviors becomes justified. Sociologists also make the same mistake when working under the Conflict and Functionalist theories. A Conflict or Functionalist sociologist could make the argument that homosexuality needs to be regarded as unethical in order to sustain an emphasis on family structure, which has been integral to most societies since the beginning of social …show more content…
Indeed, the 20th century was one of rapid change: in 1861, slavery was still legal in many American states and women were unable to vote; in 1961, the Civil Rights Movement was underway and women had not only been granted suffrage, but were conducting a Women’s Liberation movement of their own. In one hundred years, thousands of years of social structure had come undone, because humans no longer saw these structures as beneficial to society. With an increasing emphasis on industry and a decreasing emphasis on agriculture, race and gender roles were becoming not only obsolete, but harmful. For example, in the United States during WWII, most men who would have entered the work force were drafted to war. The social structure of sex that was in place, with women working at home and raising a family, no longer was beneficial to society, because industry was becoming crippled due to lack of workers and an increased demand for products. This sparked the short-lived “Rosie the Riveter” movement, where women were allowed to work in factories in large numbers, doing work normally deemed too dangerous for their sex. This is perhaps the most drastic example of social structure being overthrown for the benefit of change and demand – after WWII, women were encouraged to return home to raise families in order to fill the demand for a population spurt after the causalities of war. Before