Part V Chapter 27. Part 5: Ch. 27 People make “justifications” for deviance seen as valid by...
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Transcript of Part V Chapter 27. Part 5: Ch. 27 People make “justifications” for deviance seen as valid by...
People make “justifications” for deviance seen as valid by deviants but not by legal system or society
Denial of responsibility: Deviance due to acts or situations beyond
their controlDenial of injury:
mitigate act by alluding to lack of harmful consequences to anyone
Part 5: Ch. 27
Denial of the victim: legitimate their behavior by suggesting no
specific victim can be identified or that persons hurt “deserve” what happened to them
Appeal to higher loyalties: behavior justified as serving a greater good
Condemnation of the condemners: turning the table on accusers, focus on what accusers have done wrong
Denial of responsibility: Deviance due to acts or situations beyond
their controlPart 5: Ch. 27
Denial of injury: mitigate act by alluding to lack of harmful
consequences to anyoneDenial of the victim:
legitimate their behavior by suggesting no specific victim can be identified or that persons hurt “deserve” what happened to them
Appeal to higher loyalties: behavior justified as serving a greater
good Condemnation of the condemners:
turning the table on accusers, focus on what accusers have done wrong
Part 5: Ch. 27
Defense of necessity (Coleman, 1994)Everybody does it (Coleman, 1994)Justification by comparison Postponement
Part 5: Ch. 27
Interviews with 137 participants in a court-ordered diversion program for first-time offenders charged with theft, the majority for shoplifting
Part 5: Ch. 27
Denial of responsibility“I didn’t mean it”Frees subject from experiencing culpability
by being seen as victims of their environment
Offender views self as being acted upon rather than acting: blame poor parenting, bad companions, or internal forces
Allows offender to avoid disapproval of self or others which diminishes those influences as mechanisms of social control
Alcohol or drugs often cited as reason for shoplifters’ loss of self-control Part 5: Ch. 27
Denial of injury“I didn’t really hurt anybody”Shoplifters suggest that big stores like
Sears are easily able to afford the loss Denial of the victim
“They had it coming”Shoplifters view large stores as deserving
victims because they make excessive profits at the expense of ordinary people: theft is justified as retaliation
Part 5: Ch. 27
Condemnation of the condemners “The system is corrupt”Blame on law-makers and law-enforcers,
shifting focus from offender to those who disapprove of their theft
“Cops are thieves, too” and “judges take bribes”
Part 5: Ch. 27
Appeal to higher loyalties“I didn’t do it for myself”Mothers shoplifting for items for children
they could not afford to buyThe defense of necessity
Attempt to reduce guilt by arguing the offender had no other choice under circumstances: “I had no other choice”
Most often used when shoplifter states crime was necessary to help one’s family
Part 5: Ch. 27
Everybody does it The crime is common, unexceptional, and
therefore the offender is “normal”Justification by comparison
“If I wasn’t shoplifting I would be doing something more serious”
Shoplifting justified by comparing it to serious offenses like robbery
Postponement“I just didn’t think about it”Excuse strategy: offender suppresses
their feelings momentarilyPart 5: Ch. 27
Does neutralization of crime occur before its commission or as a rationalization after the fact?
How serious is shoplifting compared to other types of criminal or deviance? Can it rightfully be labeled a “gateway” criminal or deviant act?
Part 5: Ch. 27
Sports have long been associated with construction & maintenance of masculinity among men and boysReinforces patriarchal values of
masculinity over femininityDevaluation of femininity reflected in
subordination of women as well as men who participate in non-masculine activities
Part 5: Ch. 28
Competitive sports emphasizing size, strength, & power reinforces and reaffirms masculinity of viewers or players
Preeminent “male” sports: football, basketball, ice hockey, and baseball which emphasize mental toughness, competitiveness, and domination
Athletics provide young men with status among peers, increasing their popularity and acceptance; those who do not play sports are stigmatized and may be seen negatively
Part 5: Ch. 28
Men in female-dominated occupations such as cheerleading encounter questions regarding their sexuality
To reaffirm their masculinity, these men emphasize masculine aspects of their job or seek administrative positions
Participants (n=17) drawn from cheerleading squad at Ohio public university; equally male and female, all white, between ages 18-25: focus groups and individual interviews
Part 5: Ch. 28
StigmaParticipation in a feminine sport: male
cheer-leaders are labeled as non-masculine & homosexual for “crossing over” into a female domain
One says he will avoid the stigma he faces by not cheering publicly at the game: He loves and attends the practices but he
has no plans to cheer at a football game Sexuality: male cheerleaders’ sexual
identities may also be questioned by others including fellow cheerleaders
Part 5: Ch. 28
Saving Face Male cheerleaders employ strategies to
minimize stigma of participating in female-dominated sport
TerritorialityMale cheerleaders adamant about
importance of men in cheerleading, even invoking history of sport as begun by men (women excluded at that time)
Part 5: Ch. 28
Women cheerleaders appear to be invested in helping men to maintain masculine guise & are willing to help elevate men into superior role
By ‘doing femininity” female cheerleaders show their submissiveness to men
Masculine Aspects - Toughness & Aggression Male cheerleaders seek to demonstrate their
heterosexuality by establishing toughness and masculinity
Male cheerleaders can hold their own against football team: project image they should not be messed with and able to protect themselves through use of violence if neededPart 5: Ch. 28
Sexual Objectification of Women
Hypermasculinity (Connell, 1992) becomes manifest when hostility exists toward gay men and heterosexual men attempt to create social distance between them
In cheerleading, the men do this in large part by sexualizing female cheerleaders
Female cheerleaders, acknowledging stereotypes about male cheerleaders, emphasize that “male cheerleaders are the most heterosexual males I ever met”
Part 5: Ch. 28
Women construct the men as both “brotherly” and “perverted” and provide defenses for the men’s sexualization of the women
Both the men and the women see the sexual objectification of women as a component of a man being masculine
Men emphasize a sexualized relationship with the women: it is cited as one reason why they chose to cheer
Part 5: Ch. 28