SOCIOL 101 Lecture Notes - Medicalization
Document Summary
Divan categories are defined by groups with the ability to legitimate and enforce these definitions. An increasing number of behaviors and conditions are being interpreted in medical terms, giving the medical profession increased powers in determining what normal and desirable behavior is. Medical practice is increasingly understood to be the proper mechanism for controlling modifying, and elimating undesirable, deviant behaviors. The power to determine what is normal and what is deviant confers great power upon those who possess it. Medical def of deviance appear rational, scientifically based, and dependent on technical expertise rather than human judgement, but defining what is normal and what is deviant is ultimately a moral enterprise. Who controls deviance: change legitimate authority, changes the meaning of the behavior, shifts attribution of sesponsibility.