SOC102H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Marital Rape, Arson, Medicalization
Document Summary
When sociologists look at crime and deviance, they see these things as socially constructed. There is nothing inherent in the so called criminal or deviant act. It is the society which labels them; which labels an activity criminal or deviant. There is nothing inherently criminal about it. There are not many universally illegal" or unacceptable" actions in a society; there are always circumstances which will make something acceptable. Male initiation rites, they needed to have a stick poked up their nose in order to drain. Female blood out of the male child. (painful, caused by parents but not unacceptable) Deviance: involves breaking a norm and eliciting a negative reaction from others. Informal punishment: is mild and may involve raised eyebrows, gossip, ostracism or stigmatization. Stigmatization: when people are stigmatized, they are negatively evaluated because of a perceptible sign that distinguishes them from others. Formal punishment: results from people breaking laws, which are norms stipulated and enforced by government bodies.
