Cher here. It has been a long time since I have written a guest post. Here it goes!
I wanted to share something that I have learned in my social control class that I keep laughing at. It is short, but still, interesting.
So, when researchers define deviance in an objective perspective, they use four definitions to define whether or not someone is deviant. One of those definitions includes “statistical rarity.” Statistical rarity refers to a deviant act being labelled “deviant” based on population ratio. Say someone has green hair for example. Not many people in Canada have green hair, so statistically speaking, dying your hair green is a deviant act. We laughed about this in class. Of course researchers recognize that there are limitations to all definitions of deviance, but when you break it down like this, it can be pretty funny.
Consider that very few people decide to NOT watch TV. Those people would be considered a deviant if a person only used ‘statistical rarity’ as a source for defining behaviour. Social reaction is another defining factor. Many people would be confused or disagree with never watching TV. So then, two defining factors have the same limitations. It’s just interesting to me. I keep thinking about new bizarre ways people can be considered deviant. Basically, if you don’t follow the crowd, good or bad, you’re deviant. That is so flawed.
Thankfully, Objectivists have taken on subjective ways of thinking, so someone who does not watch television is not actually a deviant. I guess, they could be if they had other things going on.
One last thought: Back in the day, women were burned a lot for being witches. Male doctors, Priests, and Officers were allowed to decide who was a witch(deviant) based on their own limited understanding of what a witch was. Did you know that even being financially independent as a woman in those days would constitute as witch craft? And people in the community would attend the horrific burning ceremonies who didn’t even agree with this, just so THEY weren’t labeled a witch.
I leave you with these random pieces of trivia from class that I find the most interesting so far. I apologize if I have ruined your day.