SOCI 3810 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Feminist School Of Criminology, Labeling Theory, Symbolic Interactionism
2 May 2018
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Labeling Theory and Stigma, Feminist Theories, & Life Course Theory
I. Labeling Theory & Stigma
•Overview
-other theories focus on offender
-labeling theory : focus on behavior of those who label, react to, or otherwise seek to
control offender
•creates a self-fulfilling prophecy : “a person’s identity or self-conception is
shaped by messages other people deliver as to ‘who the person is’” — individual
labeled as criminal, treated/reacted to as criminal, eventually he assumes and
accepts his criminal identity
•learned as part of educational process in community — youths surrounded by
criminal and older offenders
•based in symbolic interactionism — subjective
•Roots of Theory : Tannenbaum’s Crime & Community (1938)
-key aspect of becoming a “criminal” —> being arrested, delinquent status made public
-why does labeling lead to crime?
(1) once an individual is labeled, he is more likely to be grouped with delinquent/
deviant peers & in the process learns to become better criminal
(2) individual begins to think differently about themselves & become aware that
they are different
-become “aware” of criminal identity after being tagged, defined, identified, and
segregated
-Main Idea —> “In the end, by labeling a juvenile with the official status of delinquent
‘the person becomes the thing he is described as being’” . . . so best policy in dealing
with juveniles is a refusal to dramatize the evil
•Lemert : Primary & Secondary Deviance
(a) Primary Deviance —> deviations that are rationalized or otherwise death with as a
function of moral roles
•does NOT lead to acceptance of criminal label, a normal deviation
•deviant behavior does NOT impact identity
(b) Secondary Deviance —> individual organizes their life and identity around their
deviance
•occurs when deviant acts are repetitive, highly visible, and involve severe social
reactions. . . process of labeling theory = secondary deviance
•incorporated into sense of self
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•ex. incarceration , arrest, criminal label
(c) The Shift —> What causes shift from primary to secondary deviance?
•the shift is a gradual process : accept deviant label & make decisions around it
•shift occurs from the reactions of other
-“a gradual process unfolds in which cycle of deviation and negative reactions
from others is repeated and amplified”
-over time, increasingly stigmatized & eventually accept “deviant social
status”
•Process :
1. Primary Deviance
2. Social Penalties (no CJ involvement)
3. Further Primary Deviance
4. Stronger Penalties (not as severe as incarceration)
5. Further Deviation
6. Formal Action by Community
7. Acceptance of Deviant Social Status
•The “Rise & Fall” of Labeling Theory
-why was labeling theory so appealing?
(1) challenged traditional assumptions
•not everyone who breaks the law receives criminal label . . . so being a criminal
depends not only on a person’s actions but on how others react to that person
•deviance is socially constructed rather than
(2) critique of state power —> very efforts to control crime actually cause it (e.g.
incarceration, rehabilitating offenders)
-but. . . very little empirical evidence for early versions
•stability of crime & deviance in childhood before given labels
•other factors DO matter
•eventually rejected because of lack of support
•Braithwaite : Contemporary Theories : based on work showing that involvement in the CJ
system DOES increase recidivism and does little to deter crime (ex. Matsueda’s focus on
informal reactions)
(a) Crime, Shame, & Reintegration
-central thesis : crime is higher when shame is stigmatizing & lower when it is
reintegrative
-what is shame?
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•social processes of expressing disapproval which have intention or effect of
invoking remorse in person being shamed and/or condemnation by others
who become aware of the shaming
•shame is necessary — whether or not crime is reduced is what follows
shaming
-why shame?
1. Social Control —> shame is a participatory process & form of social
control that builds on consciousness through citizens by being the
instruments & targets of shame as a social control
2. Deterrence —> shame is specific & general
3. Private —> shaming on societal level is very public (entire community
involved) and so feel shame harder
4. Not Direct —> shaming works best when connected with forgiveness &
reintegration
(b) Reintegrative vs. Stigmatizing Shaming
-two types of shaming
(1) stigmatizing —> shaming with NO effort to reconcile offender with
community
•offender is an outcast
•includes formal criminal punishment
•leads to criminal subcultures
(2) reintegrative —> shaming followed by effort to reintegrate offender back
into community through words or gestures of forgiveness
•“reintegrative shaming controls crime; stigmatization pushes
offenders toward criminal subculture”
(c) Policy Implication? — Restorative Justice
-key component : “conference” attended by victim and offender as well as their
family and community members and some kind of mediator
(1) Consensus is reached as how to enable offender to restore harm they have
caused (e.g. restitution to victim, community service)
(2) Reject incarceration as prison experience is stigmatizing, harm producing,
and unlikely to be restorative
(3) In taking steps to restore their harms, offenders remain in community
where they receive support to reintegrate into conventional social roles
(d) More Key Concepts
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Document Summary
Labeling theory and stigma, feminist theories, & life course theory: labeling theory & stigma, overview. Key aspect of becoming a criminal > being arrested, delinquent status made public. Become aware of criminal identity after being tagged, defined, identified, and segregated. Main idea > in the end, by labeling a juvenile with the official status of delinquent. A gradual process unfolds in which cycle of deviation and negative reactions from others is repeated and amplified . Matsueda"s focus on informal reactions) (a) crime, shame, & reintegration. Central thesis : crime is higher when shame is stigmatizing & lower when it is reintegrative. Interdependency > extent to which individuals participate in networks where they are dependent on others and others are dependent on them in achievement of goals (why shame has an affect at micro-level) Communitarianism > extent to which individuals are enmeshed in interdependent relations of mutual help & trust (why shame has an affect at macro-level)
