Also, another way I am labeled deviant, by society, is I have a little fluff on my body. I am not a size 0 or anything. Actually by the numbers of the scale and doctors, I am considered obese. I don’t think I look obese, but according to society that is how they label me. That puts strain on me sometimes because it makes me want to lose weight more. I stress about it sometimes and wonder why I can’t be the size that society wants me to be. I really like the article we read called “My Gay Lifestyle” by Scudera because being fat is a similar thing. (2) I live a normal life and do normal things like shower, drive, have normal relationships, but since I am considered obese it’s like that word follows me, as the word gay follows him. We also read, “Hey Fat Chick: Thin Privilege Checklist” and I found that very interesting because as I was going through the list, my body type does not fall on that check list. For example, the second bullet point talks about picking up a magazine or watching TV and seeing people the same size. You don’t see fat or obese people in magazines or on TV very often. (3)
For my deviant experiment I decided to stand backwards in a few elevators. It’s funny because I decided to do this before you put it up on the blog as an example. Here is an example of what I did. It was the best one I could find.
I stood backwards in a few different elevators. The first one was in the Clark County Juvenile Court house. I just happen to be there for a speeding ticket so why not be there for two deviant reasons. There was one man in the elevator with me. I can feel that he was staring at me awkwardly. The second place I stood in the elevator facing backwards was at the Vancouver Mall. I ended up in an elevator with two teenage females. They didn’t say much, but laughed. And when we were getting out of the elevator I could tell they were talking about me quietly.
Standing with your back to the front of an elevator is considered deviant because we have a social norm to stand facing forward, just like we have a norm to follow the speed limit signs on the side of the road. There is nothing wrong or harmful with standing the opposite way; I just received awkward looks because I wasn’t following the social norms of society. It shouldn’t matter what way we stand but since day one we have always stood a certain way we are expected, as a society, to keep it the same.
It was strange to be acting in a deviant way. I am not a person that goes against the social norms of society frequently. Also, it was strange and different to be receiving looks, which I couldn’t really see because I was facing the other way but I could feel them staring at me. They were labeling me as weird or strange because I wasn’t following the norms of society. Like I explained above Becker says in labeling theory that if you act in a way, society will label you differently, whether that is who or what you are regardless.
Word Count: 700
(1) Thio, Alex, Thomas C. Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
(2) (2) Scudera, Domenick. "My Gay Lifestyle." Huffpost Gay Voices. 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.
(3) (3) "Hey, Fat Chick." Thin Privileged Checklist. Web. 4 Feb. 2012.
Do better:
ReplyDeleteI felt like you could have explained more in details about why you are deviant with the theories. For example, though you are right about the labeling theory, you could also mention that we are the ones who actually created deviance because we have created rules in our society (Becker, as cited in Thio, Alex, and Thomas, 2010). By not following rules, the consequence is not only a fine given by the law, but also the label given as well. Additionally, the labeling theory also describes the interactions between the deviant and their peers: have they also labeled you as a deviant? The response from others based on your act is also a component in this theory. Reactions from peers could vary greatly and some of them may not even regard you as a deviant. Afterall, many people speed occasionally and sometimes the deviant act could be regarded more lenient depending on the occasion and the person who committed the act. For example, a student speeding because she was late to class sounds better than a person who was racing another driver on the freeway, does it not? We are usually more sympathetic towards the student (usually, anyways).
- Vanise Leong
Reference:
Thio, Alex, Thomas C. Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. 2010. Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
P.S: The Youtube clip was really funny, especially when people slowly turned around and faced against the wall just like the others. Too bad that did not happen in your case. I have a feeling the clip was staged, though, unfortunately.
* edit
ReplyDeleteSorry, my in-text citation was incorrect.
It's supposed to be...
(Becker, as cited in Thio, Calhoun, and Conyers, 2010)
Hello Chelsea, I stop by your blog and I can be more agreed with you that not being a size zero put all kind of labels and pressure from society. In regards to your deviant behavior as you mentioned of having a record of speeding, Howard S. Becker explained in his theory “Labeling Theory” that just because someone has violated a rule does not mean that they can be considered deviant (Becker 40). I understand that you has broken some driving rules and laws, but base on the theory I don’t think you are deviant at all. I see a deviant act beyond one time offense. I see it as something that follows you no matter where you go. For instance, your second example, not being a size 0 I can see that as being more deviant then speeding because it is something society can judge every time you come in contact with others. On the other hand, if don’t get caught speeding it becomes really hard to judge you and call you deviant. I believe you can give more details on how your speeding records have negatively affected you. Example: You can say that because of your driving record you can’t get certain jobs. Than apply Becker’s theory on how society is constructed and how that has affected you.
ReplyDeleteBecker, Howard. “Labeling Theory.” Readings In Deviant Behavior. Eds. Alex, Thio. Thomas, Calhoun. Addrain, Conyers. Boston, MA.