Essay On Deviance

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Abstract This assignment focuses on how deviance forms a part of major social institutions in our society i.e., religion, education, government, economy and family. It attempts to explore so, through different perspectives and live examples/ situations persisting in the India society. I have also tried to give examples of situations that I have witnessed in the agency I am placed, Crime against Women (CAW) Cell. What is Deviance? Though there is no exact or approved definition of Deviance but the Blackwell encyclopaedia of sociology defines it as, ‘violation of a social norm which is likely to result in censure or punishment for the violator’. Though, this definition of ‘Deviance’ is not accepted by sociologists all over the world. In simple …show more content…

Positive in the sense that if a person breaks the rules and law and does well to the society then he is positively sanctioned that is he is rewarded. For instance, if a doctor goes beyond the rules of hi discipline and invents something which will benefit the society then he will be rewarded. Negative deviance means that when a person breaks the laws and harms the society in some way or the other, in which case he negatively sanctioned and punished. For instance, if a person commits rape or sexually harasses someone he is said to be deviant and his actions harm the whole society. Sociologists majorly deal with the negative aspect of ‘deviation’. Deviance cannot be defined in an absolute way because it is a relative term. Also, it may happen that an act which is deviant today according to the society might not be the same tomorrow and vice-versa. For instance, in many societies or cultures today homosexuality is seen as a deviant behaviour and is not approved of. But sometime after some years this might not remain to be a taboo for the society. Also, there was a time when girls were condemned to smoke and drink and this was thought of as a deviant behaviour on the part of the society. But today the society is coming to terms with