Blog Post 2: Why I Am So Very Deviant

One could definitely say that I am deviant in my ways; as in how I carry myself, how I speak, my reactions to things, the fact that I am considered a “potty-mouth” by societies’ standards and the fact that I am a minority. But out of all those key factors, the thing that most assuredly tucks me snugly into the deviant category is my big mouth. I am the first one to admit that I don’t know when to shut my mouth. When I was younger, not only did my mouth get me into trouble, but I also got myself involved in a considerable amount of physical fights as well; which is oh-so-deviant to our society due to the fact that (gasp!) putting your hands on someone in a way that causes them bodily harm is not only against the law, but it is considered “morally” wrong and it is something that is common knowledge to the average person; and if you know this and still partake in this immoral, illegal behavior, you couldn’t be any more deviant if you pranced around the street naked.

I guess one could correctly assume that my secret pleasure I get from shocking people definitely has always had something to do with just wanting to be that rebel, that hellcat that had to be just a little different from the crowd; whom to almost a ridiculous extent was extremely successful at pissing people off. Call it the foolishness of being an adolescent if you want. That is feasible. By displaying rebellious behavior to society in the ways I did, I unknowingly cast myself into a perfect example for the labeling theory. I was a product of my environment. I didn’t have much growing up, my family struggled financially and I never made it any secret that it made me angry. When you aren’t used to having much, you don’t expect much, so what difference did it make if I followed the rules or not? Being part of the lower class when it came to socio-economic status, the labeling theory fit me like a glove. Not the best upbringing and surely on the road towards breaking the law and offending society, labeling a kid who had my behavior as deviant was about as accurate as could possibly be (Labeling Theory, Becker). This deviant behavior was expected of a kid like me, so I gave society exactly what they wanted, and then some.

I also believe the conflict theory is relatable to my deviant adolescent behavior. That part of me that was so angry that I had so little and there were so many others my age that didn’t ever have to want for anything. I found myself always going toe-to-toe with the kids who were known as “wealthy”, and justified my behavior as being the spokesperson for others who were considered “poor kids” like I was against the “rich kids” that were always willing to step onto the battlefield to go to war against the kids who were just like me and that always caused conflict, even as kids who had no idea what social standing, conflict, and what the word deviant even meant. The conflict theory goes together with the labeling theory like peanut butter with jelly when it comes to showing an example of how we are products of our environment, and even as adolescents we know that we are expected to live up to the labels that are set for us, which in turn molds our thinking and behaviors for the rest of our lives (Conflict Theory, Quinney).

Things are different now that I am an adult. I don’t just go around punching people in their faces anymore. However, I will not hesitate to beat someone senseless with my words though, which is something I do often, as “deviant” as that may sound to some. When it comes to someone like me who has such an aggressive personality and admittedly some anger issues, having a temper and a tendency to fly off the handle with my big mouth, this is my way of having some control in society and still being able to express myself to where people get my point loud and clear. As bad as it sounds to some, this is my alternative to going up and just hitting someone in the face. Honestly, the only reason I don’t get into fights? The consequences, as in the law. Being arrested, jail time, parole, charges being pressed against me and knowing what disruption it would cause in my life is the only thing that stops me from letting someone feel the wrath of my right hook, and there are many times I have to remind myself of these consequences so I don’t just react with my fist connecting with the jaw of whoever happened to rub me the wrong way. This fits right into the social control theory; considering the fact that if the law wasn’t there to regulate me, I would probably not hesitate to revert back to that kid who expressed her anger with her fists (Control Theory, Hirschi).

Taking all of this into consideration, for my deviant behavior example, I went into a very high-end retail store and spent about an hour there basically offending people. I chose Macy’s at Westfield Vancouver Mall, for the simple fact that it is frequented a lot by people who are considered by most to have a certain amount of wealth, as Macy’s is rather expensive. I didn’t go too over the top, but I definitely got a lot of stares and fingers pointed at me, as I was making a point to use more profanity than I normally do, and talk about things that society would disapprove of being discussed in public, choosing to talk about sex and hooking up with different guys and making up a story about a bar fight. This sort of talk along with a lot of profanity offended a lot of people. Why is that? Because society says those aren’t the sort of things you are supposed to talk about in public, it is considered inappropriate and shows a lack of sophistication. Just using the word “f**k” is enough to make people gasp and shake their heads, because the word is just so offensive to the ears of the shoppers at Macy’s. Guess my deviance came in handy when it came to this experiment.

I don’t think there are many people who would disagree with me when I say I fall into the deviant category of society. Its just the way I am, and I honestly don’t care if people approve or disapprove. If there weren’t deviant people like me in society, who would the normal people have to gossip about and judge?



Works Cited

Quinney, Richard. “Conflict Theory.” Readings In Deviant Behavior. p. 45. Alex Thio, Thomas C. Calhoun, Addrain Conyers.

Travis Hirschi. “Control Theory.” Readings In Deviant Behavior. p. 30. Alex Thio, Thomas C. Calhoun, Addrain Conyers.

Becker, Howard S. “Labeling Theory.” Readings In Deviant Behavior. p. 39. Alex Thio, Thomas C. Calhoun, Addrain Conyers.

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