Constructions of Deviance
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Book Review: “Constructions of Deviance”.
1. Introduction
This review focuses on the book titled “Constructions of Deviance”. This is a book that is authored by Peter Adler and Patricia Adler who are both PhD holders. It is published by Wadsworth Publishing Company and the second edition upon which this review is based was published in 1997. The two are husband and wife and are both sociology professors. While Peter has had a long career as professor of sociology at the University of Denver, Patricia has served as associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado. They have edited several journals and are respected authorities on sociology. This book has more than fifty contributors, all of whom are accomplished scholars in their respective fields and have the rank of professor. Thus, the book being reviewed is an authoritative expose of deviance. It provides deep and invaluable insights that would be hard to find elsewhere.
2. Examination and Elucidation of the Book
The book is divided into 8 parts. The general introduction precedes the first chapter and provides a general introduction to deviance. In the general introduction, deviance is defined and the critical theories and social policies underpinning deviance enumerated. Theories of deviance construction such as objectivist, subjectivist, and labeling theories are discussed. Theories of deviance that are discussed are structural, cultural, interactionist explanations and the labeling perspective. A brief purview of the social organization of deviance is also presented. The book therefore sets a solid foundation upon which the rest of the chapters are built.
Part one consists of four chapters and is dedicated to the definition of deviance. Part one begins by providing a more detailed definition of social deviance. It provides an interesting narrative on the origins and perspectives of deviance, starting with its categorization as conceptualized by William Summer, the father of sociology. It considers the relationship between deviance and crime, and explores the categorization of individuals manifesting deviant behaviors. The next section is chapter one and this section attempts to differentiate the normal from the pathological while the second chapter is an exposition that looks into how other people respond to deviance. The final chapter in part one considers the reasons why deviance is viewed as crime, sin, and poor taste.
Part two deals with the study of deviance and presents a wide array of methods used to study deviance. Part two is composed of chapters four, five, and six. Chapter four tackles the crime of rape and considers the difficulties associated with its study as well as the intricacies surrounding the definition and management of rape cases. Chapter five gives a detailed account of the methods used to conduct field research among deviants. Chapter six explores the challenges faced in studying smugglers and dealers, discussing the problem of getting in, developing trust, playing the overt and covert roles, and validation of data obtained from the participants.
Part three is about the construction of deviance and it consists of chapters seven to chapter fourteen. An introduction on the concept of moral entrepreneurship is first provided before the concept of differential social power is discussed. Chapter seven is an essay by Howard Becker on moral entrepreneurs. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section defines and discusses rule creators while the second section talks about rule enforcers. Chapter eight considers the act of cigarette smoking as a deviant behavior and considers arguments by both the pro-smoking and anti-smoking forces. Emerging confrontations between these two forces are considered. Chapter nine tackles the problem of drugs and specifically considers the social construction of drug scars. Discussed in this chapter are issues pertaining to drug scares and drug laws and the formulation of an all-encompassing theory of drug scares that is culturally specific. Chapter ten discusses husband battery. The author grapples with societal attitudes towards husband battery and contends that husband battery is not yet accepted as a social problem. Chapter eleven talks about the social reality of crime where the official definition of crime is discussed and novel definitions of crime proffered and analyzed. Development of behavior patterns in relation to crime definitions is discussed and an ideology of crime and the social reality of crime constructed. Chapter twelve explores the world of juvenile delinquency with a detailed example of two gangs namely The Saints and The Roughnecks. Chapter thirteen talks about the police and the black male. This chapter attempts to interrogate the stereotype of the black male as a serial offender. The last chapter in this part, chapter fourteen, discusses homophobia in sports.
Part four of the book explores the topic of organizational and institutional deviance. The introduction of this chapter talks about how deviance is created and labeled. Part four has chapters fifteen to chapter nineteen. The main theme in part four is that of organizational and institutional deviance. Chapter fifteen details how organizational and or institutional deviance is created and labeled. Chapter sixteen discusses deviant police lies while chapter seventeen talks about organized crime. In chapter seventeen, deviance related to state-organized crime including narcotics trade, arms smuggling, assassinations, and murder is discussed. Chapter seventeen discusses the moral career of the mental patient while chapter eighteen provides an exposition of the moral stigmatization of the paid plasma donors. Chapter nineteen which is the last chapter in part four talks about how victims’ allegations of sexual assault are usually discredited.
Part five of the book is dedicated to deviant identity. It starts by considering aspects of identity development, stigma management, and account and neutralizations. This part consists of chapters twenty to twenty seven. Chapter twenty talks about the identity change process and provide a field study of obesity while chapter twenty one explores aspects of divorce and stigma. Chapter twenty-two is on anorexia nervosa and bulimia and it traces the development of deviant identities. The next chapter discusses excuses and justifications used by convicted rapists while chapter twenty four talks about the influence of situational ethics on cheating among college students. In chapter twenty five, ways in which lesbians manage the stigma associated with their sexual orientation is discussed and the issue of women athletes as falsely accused deviants addressed. Chapter twenty six delves into the methods that are used to manage the stigma facing ex-psychiatric patients. The ambiguity of illness and the search for meaning is explored in chapter twenty seven
Part six of the book discusses the relations among deviants and contains chapter twenty eight which explores the social organization of a counterculture. Chapter twenty nine talks about women in outlaw motorcycle groups. Chapter thirty is on international organized crime.
Part seven of the book talks about deviant acts. Among the deviant acts which are discussed is sexual asphyxia in chapter thirty one, homosexual behavior in public restrooms in chapter thirty two, table dancing in chapter thirty three, and fraternities and rape in campus in chapter thirty four. Chapter thirty five talks about pool and golf hustling.
Part eight discusses deviant careers. On entering deviance, chapter thirty six looks at tattoos and other marks of deviance while chapter thirty seven explores the aspects of joining a gang. On being deviant, chapter thirty eight provides an exposition on victimization and resistance among prostitutes while chapter thirty nine discusses nonmainstream body modification such as genital piercing, branding, burning, and cutting. Part eight also considers aspects of exiting deviance and these are discussed in chapters forty and forty one. In chapter forty, the author looks at shifts and oscillationsin deviant careers with specific reference to upper-level drug dealers and smugglers. Finally, chapter forty one looks at how people get out of deviant life and considers the case of crime desistance by female street offenders.
3. Evaluation of the Book
Overall, the book is an exhaustive compilation of essays that cover the entire ambit of deviance. The book has several strong points. The most outstanding strength of the book is that it is based on the belief that deviant acts must be studied in the natural world. This is a major strength of the book because most studies of deviance use methodologies such as field research, experimental design, surveys, and historical methods which are not secretive. Such methods do not place the researcher in close contact with the people being studied and therefore the researchers do not completely understand the people that they are studying. This dilutes the utility of such studies. In contrast, the methods used in the study are participant observation and ethnography, which enable the researchers to fully immerse themselves in the worlds of the people being studied and hence understand them better. Therefore, the book is able to weave accounts of deviance that are not only founded on secrecy but which are also truer and more useful. Additionally, the book does not only discuss deviant acts but also addresses issues to do with the construction of deviance.
All the references are peer-reviewed scholarly articles from journals and books. The language used is simple and the explanations are done in a clear manner. The authors have succeeded in presenting the different readings in sociology clearly, succinctly, and hence in addressing all the important facets of deviance. The book is an important resource to not only students of sociology but also any person interested in criminal and juvenile justice. It provides a clear discussion on the critical aspects of these two areas.
4. References