Sociology of Deviance, Essay Example

Hirschi’s Theory of Social Bonds can be defined as a person’s bonds to another person or social group that causes them to behave the way that they do, it can be said that a person’s bond that they form with their college, friends in college, or even the social group that people are a part of can automatically make a person go from supposedly mild-mannered one minute to a criminal committing deviant acts the next minute. It is a known fact that social bonds come in 4 forms. The first is commitment, people are committed to maintaining a social image or how they want people to see them. A person who commits a criminal or deviant act is forever known as a thief or a disappointment or even a failure, social bond theory of commitment suggests that people aren’t likely to do anything bad as long as they know they have something to lose like the other person’s respect.

Belief is the second, people with their own beliefs about right and wrong are willing go to reasonable lengths to not do the right thing. An example of this is choosing to stay home and watch a 12 hour marathon of NCIS instead of going to and helping out at mom’s bake sale. Involvement is the third, a person is doing something positive will not commit criminal or deviant acts. Attachment is the last form, people who commit deviant acts or act criminal will be worried about what someone thinks about them. An example of this is when a person worries about what an adult figure will think about them and completely change their perspective of that person.

This is a Conservative Theory on the grounds that it assumes that people care about what other people think of them and that opinion is likely to change if they are doing something wrong or criminal, if they’re caught stealing then they are likely to be branded by their social group or people that they know; the tarnished image is usually something that people don’t recover from. The deviant or criminal act becomes who they are and who they’ll forever be known as.

The labeling perspective or labeling theory is seen as a way to label someone based on a deviant behavior or behavior that is unfitting to society. A little boy who steals a candy bar on a dare is forever labeled by people as a thief or a man who helps his friend’s wife with her coat is labeled as a womanizer or a flirt, the labeling perspective has become a tool used by society to brand people based on behaviors or deviant behaviors. An example of this is when a man is dusting off his nephew’s pants that has dirt on it from a baseball game, the man is labeled a sex offender because of something innocent. It is through the labeling perspective that people come to be what they’re being labeled as, the result is that the person’s self-concept or how they see themselves is completely different from the actual truth about themselves. For example, a 41-year-old woman who goes to the prom with an 18-year-old guy is seen as desperate while the male is seen as a cougar lover. The labels on these two people make the statement that society doesn’t approve of what they see, the two people’s self-concept is likely to make them forever believe that what they’re doing is bad.

Those closest to the two separate individuals are likely to think that what they’re doing is wrong and those people are likely to keep that label of those two people in their minds forever, this might drive the two people to keep on with their behavior because they’ll feel like their perception of themselves by other people will be permanent.

This is another example of Conservative Theory because it is based on people doing or acting on behaviors, whether they’re deviant or non-deviant, that defines who the person is and how they’re known by society standards as well as the society label. A person who does something out of weakness one time is forever labeled something bad or worse because that’s how society sees it, the person’s self-concept of themselves is completely shattered; they will see themselves the way that society sees them.

Feminist theory explores different backgrounds of how women are seen and viewed not to mention their sense of worth, feminist theory also explores how both genders perform socially. There are four types of feminist theory that history has acknowledged as paramount in describing women and the struggles of women.

The first, Structural Oppression. This type of feminist theory confirms the belief that women make less than men, and women in the workforce are seen as practically second class citizens instead of being on their male counterpart’s level. An example of this is a woman who makes $65,000 a year based on her PhD. A male in the same position is making 1.5 to 2.1x that amount. Sometimes, race is brought into the equation. A woman of color is making $8.55 an hour doing in home care while her male counterpart is making close to $11 an hour.

Gender Inequality is the second type of feminist theory, this type signifies that women are better off being homemakers instead of being employed. This theory also explores the idea that women shouldn’t act without her male partner’s permission.

The third type of feminist theory is Gender differences, this aspect of feminist theory explores the differences between men and women not to mention how some men view women.

Gender Oppression is the final type of feminist theory that explores how women are not just viewed but treated as well, this theory also explores how women are verbally and physically abused because they’re seen as the inferior gender as well as inferior to men in every way.

Feminist Theory falls in the realm of Conservative Theory because it is based on the societal logic of how men and women are viewed, women are viewed as the weaker sex because of their inability to follow a man’s lead. Also, because society sees men as strong providers then they are hailed as the stronger of the two sexes. Society sees men as the dominant force and will always be the leader.