Deviance and Deviants

William E. Thompson is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He is the co-author of Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology (with J. Hickey and M. Thompson, 8th edition, 2017) a leading introductory sociology textbook, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach (with J. Bynum, 10th edition, 2017) one of the foremost textbooks on delinquency studies. Professor Thompson has published more than forty articles in professional journals, including several that have been reprinted in textbooks and anthologies.Jennifer C. Gibbs is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg. With articles published in several journals, including Crime, Law and Social Change, Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, and Violence Against Women, Dr. Gibbs is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

• Preface xivAbout the Companion Website xvi1 Defining Social Deviance and Deviants 1Student Learning Outcomes 1What is Deviance? 2The absolutist position 3The statistical anomaly view 3Box 1.1: In their own words: Being deviant: A left‐hander in a right‐handed world 4The Sociological Perspective 7The Social Construction of Deviance 7Norms, social control, and a range of tolerance 8Importance of culture, time, place, and situation 11Importance of acts, actors, and audience 13The Role of Media in Defining Deviance 15Moral entrepreneurs, moral crusades, and moral panics 15Confusing crime and deviance 16Equating diversity with deviance 17Negative and Positive Results of Deviance 17Negative consequences of deviance 18Positive aspects of deviance 19Summary 20Outcomes Assessment 20Key Terms and Concepts 212 Deviance and Social Identity 22Student Learning Outcomes 22Becoming Deviant 23Deviance as a Status 23Deviance as a master status 24Primary and secondary deviance 27Box 2.1: In their own words: Primary deviance: Student cheating 28Deviant career 29Deviance as a Role 30Role‐taking, role embracement, role merger, and role engulfment 30Role distance: The deviant deviant 32Deviance, Deviants, and Stigma 32Managing a Spoiled Identity 33Deviance, Identity, and The Media 34Summary 36Outcomes Assessment 37Key Terms and Concepts 373 Popular Notions and Pseudoscientific Explanations for Deviance 38Student Learning Outcomes 38Demonology: “The Devil Made Me Do It” 39Box 3.1: In their own words: Interview with a twenty‐year‐old wiccan 41Morality, Immorality, and Deviance 42Positivism, Pseudoscience, and the Medical Model of Deviance 44Early biological and physiological theories of deviance 44The medical model of deviance 48The medicalization of deviance 49Blame it on the Media 50Print media and deviance 50Television, movies, video games and deviance 52Media violence, aggression, and deviant behavior 53The internet and the power of social media 54Fallacies of Popular Notions and Pseudoscientific Explanations 55Summary 56Outcomes Assessment 56Key Terms and Concepts 574 Sociological Explanations for Deviance 58Student Learning Outcomes 58A Functionalist Perspective on Deviance 59Strain theories 60Deviant subcultures 63Strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist perspective 65The Conflict Perspective and Deviant Behavior 66The Marxian heritage 66The social reality of crime and delinquency 67Social threat theory 68Strengths and weaknesses of the conflict perspective 68Interactionist Theories and the Constructionist View of Deviance 69Labeling theories 71Social learning theories 73Control theories 75Strengths and weaknesses of interactionist theories 76A Feminist Perspective on Deviance 77The Pervasive Influence of the Media 78Box 4.1: In their own words: By Noah Nelson 79Summary 80Outcomes Assessment 81Key Terms and Concepts 815 Deviant Occupations 82Student Learning Outcomes 82The Sociology of Work 83Occupation as Master Status 84Illegal Occupations 86“Immoral” Occupations: Working in the Adult Entertainment Industry 87Working in adult films 88Stripping/nude dancing 90Box 5.1: In their own words: Topless dancers: Managing stigma in a deviant occupation 92Black‐Collar Occupations: Stigmatized Occupations and “Dirty” Work 93Stigma of handling the dead 94Box 5.2: In their own words: Morticians and funeral directors: Handling the stigma of handling the dead 95Deviant Occupations and the Media 96Summary 99Outcomes Assessment 100Key Terms and Concepts 1006 Sexual Deviance and Deviant Lifestyles 101Student Learning Outcomes 101Sex, Gender, and Human Sexuality 102Sexual Norms and Sexual Deviance 103Adultery/Swinging/Mate Swapping/Co‐Marital Sex 104Box 6.1: In their own words: Swinging and “the lifestyle” 106Naturism/nudism 107Sex norms and homosexuality 108Homosexuality and the law 109Homophobia 111Transvestism, transgenderism, and transsexuality 112Prostitution 114Phone sex and cybersex 116Sexual Deviance and the Media 117Summary 120Outcomes Assessment 121Key Terms and Concepts 1217 Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse 122Student Learning Outcomes 122A Brief History of Alcohol in the United States 123Alcohol Use among Social Groups in the United States 125Becoming an Alcoholic 128Stages of alcoholism 129Alcoholic as a master status 131Box 7.1: In their own words: Driving under the influence 131Alcohol and the media 132A Brief History of Drugs in the United States 133Race/ethnicity and drug legislation 134Drug‐crime connection 136Moral panics and moral entrepreneurs 137Women, drugs, and moral panics 139Legal and illegal drugs 139Substance use on campus 140Box 7.2: In their own words: Underage drinking 141Recreational Drug Use 142Becoming an Addict 143Box 7.3: In their own words: Marijuana User 145Drugs and the Media 147Summary 148Outcomes Assessment 148Key Terms and Concepts 1488 Physical and Mental Deviance 149Student Learning Outcomes 149Media and the “Ideal” Body 150Abominations of the Body 151Physical disabilities 152Obesity and eating disorders 157Box 8.1: In their own words: Bulimia 159Mental Disorders 161Mental illness and the medical model 162Mysteries of the mind 163Box 8.2: In their own words: Diagnosed with bipolar disorder 164Mental illness in the military 165Box 8.3: In their own words: Alzheimer’s and multiple mental illnesses 166Mental Disorders and the Media 167One flew over the cuckoo’s nest 167Summary 168Outcomes Assessment 168Key Terms and Concepts 1699 Suicide and Self‐Harm 170Student Learning Outcomes 170Defining Suicide 171Durkheim’s Classic Study 172Egoistic suicide 173Altruistic suicide 174Anomic suicide 175Fatalistic suicide 177Criticisms of Durkheim’s work 177Modern Theories of Suicide 178Suicide in the United States 178Sex and race differences in suicide 179Age and suicide 180Box 9.1: In their own words: Effects of suicide on family members 182Physician‐Assisted Suicide 183Suicide‐by‐Cop 185Box 9.2: In their own words: Attempted suicide‐by‐cop 186Suicide Terrorism 187Self‐Harm 188Box 9.3: Resources 190Suicide and the Media 191Summary 191Outcomes Assessment 192Key Terms and Concepts 19210 Beyond the Range of Tolerance: Extreme Deviance 193Student Learning Outcomes 193Body Modification and Mutilation 194Extreme tattooing 195Surgery, implants, and amputation 197Suspension 198Box 10.1: In their own words: “Hooked” on suspension 198Edgework, Risk‐Taking Behavior, and Extreme Sports 200Extreme sports 201Box 10.2: In their own words: “I’m not happy unless I’m in fear for my life” 204Extreme Lifestyles 206Minimalism 206Survivalism and doomsday preppers 208Extreme Deviance and the Media 209Summary 210Outcomes Assessment 211Key Terms and Concepts 21111 Violence, Street Crime, and Delinquency 212Student Learning Outcomes 212Measuring Crime in the United States 213Violence 214Murder 214Robbery 217Assault 219School violence 220Child abuse 222Property Crimes 224Burglary 225Larceny‐theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson 226Box 11.1: In their own words: Auto theft 226Terrorism 227Violence Against Women 229Rape and sexual assault 229Sexual assault on campus 230Rape myths 230Intimate partner violence 232Box 11.2: In their own words: Intimate partner violence 233Crime and the Media: The CSI Effect 234Box 11.3: Resources for survivors of violence 234Summary 235Outcomes Assessment 236Key Terms and Concepts 23612 Corporate Crime and Elite Deviance 237Student Learning Outcomes 237White‐Collar Crime 238Defining white‐collar crime 239Measuring white‐collar crimes 242Box 12.1: In their own words: Compilation of interviews with Bernie Sanders 244Corporate Crime 245Political Corruption 247Police Misconduct 251Elite Deviance and the Media 252Summary 252Outcomes Assessment 252Key Terms and Concepts 25313 Cyberdeviance 254Student Learning Outcomes 254Hacking and Online Piracy 256System trespassing 257Cyberpiracy 258Cyberwarfare 259Cyberbullying 259Box 13.1: In their own words: Confessions of a cyberbully 262Cyberstalking 263Cyberdeviance and the Media 264Summary 264Outcomes Assessment 265Key Terms and Concepts 26514 Deviance, Deviants, and Social Control 266Student Learning Outcomes 266Informal Social Control 268Gossip, ridicule, and shame 269Ostracism 270Formal Social Control 271Neighborhood watch and vigilantism 272Law enforcement 274Courts and corrections 275Social Control and Stigma 277Media and Public Opinion 278Judge Judy 279Summary 281Outcomes Assessment 281Key Terms and Concepts 281References 282Glossary 302Index 313