1. Tomboys: My friend has a "boy" haircut and is in the coast guard. To me she is just a girl who likes to wear jeans and hoodies a lot, to my parents and other members of my family she is a dyke. There is actually not an inch of lesbian about my friend, because she LOVES guys a lot and she even has a fiance. It is just sad and irritating how my parents (especially my dad) assume that my friend is a lesbian and so they don't even want her to come over basically. She's also Colombian, so my aunt even assumed that she does drugs- How pathetic of her. Then again she thinks everyone does drugs. In this case, the agent of social control is my family. For many generations they have been influenced by the culture where women are supposed to be feminine and play the role of a woman. I think that in the hispanic culture a lot of people if not most (especially in Latin American countries) are homophobic, so when they see women like my friend, they are quick to judge her as lesbian. I also believe that is also easy for my parents and others to label people as gay or lesbian, because of what they see going on today.
2. Teen Sex: This is seen as a problem for many parents and in different cultures. Parents, schools, culture and other other institutions want to prevent it, but reality is that sex is everywhere today. It is hard to keep children away from it because it is advertised even in the ways you wouldn't expect. When young girls(especially) are known to be sexually active, they are seen as whores and all the bad names that someone can be called. I don't think it is their fault when they are that young, because they have been influenced by the behavior of others too often.
3. In today's American society I would say thaty obesity seen as deviant. I think that this image that we have what is beautiful and what is not can stigmatize a person. Stigma is the shame connected to a behavior or status that is regarded as unacceptable or discrediting. Usually people who are stigmatized suffer inequalities which lead to isolation or discrimination in a society. If a person suffers from obesity they can be excluded from many things that can affect their social and economic position. A person's weight can prevent them from getting certain jobs even though the person may actually highly capable of performing the requisites of a job. I think that most people would discriminate obese or even a person who is just over-weight, especially in a place where "beauty" is required.
4. Tattoos: Although tattoos are popular and have been a trend for plenty years, they are still seen as deviant for many people. In my family, tattoos are seen as shameful and usually connected to gangs. I think that for many hispanics and other cultures, tattoos go against religious morals. El Salvador has a history of gangs and one of the features that gang members show is that they are covered in tattoos, which leads to the labeling of others as gang members. When I first got my tattoos I had to hide them from my parents, because I know that they would say:"only gang members have tattoos". Obviously I am not a gang member, but my parents are always so worried about what other people are going to think and say. This is not only my parents, I know other people who would look at people differently because of their tattoos even if their tattoos have absolutely nothing to do with gangs.
5. Smoking: Is another behavior that is seen as deviant although a good percentage of the nation and the world smokes. Once again, I will put my family as an example. For my family (as I am sure for others), once a kid smokes cigarettes, they are "doing drugs". Nicotine is a drug, but most people don't want to see it that way. For some parents if their kid is hanging out with someone who smokes, then that kid is bad and they think that this person is doing other drugs or smoking pot and they are also afraid that their child will do the same. cigarette becomes a joint. Edwin Sutherland would call this Differential association theory, which explains deviance as a learned behavior. I had this problem, because some of my friends started smoking and so my parents didn't want me hanging out with them, even though I didn't smoke cigarettes. My aunt rapidly assumed that my friend is a druggie because she smokes cigarettes. She started calling her a pot-head and a bad kid, meanwhile she never took the time to get to know the girl. I think that many parents do this. I understand why parents become alarmed, but it also isn't fair that some spread rumors about other people. This leads to the problem of the labeling theory. This theory describes deviance as being the result of the interpretation of a certain behavior by a group of people (usually a majority) and how the individuals who are labeled as deviant usually incorporate this judgment as part of their identity (Experience Sociology, p. 192). Although smoking is nothing to be proud of and it may lead to other drugs, I do not think people have the right to just falsely accuse others of being drug addicts because they smoke cigarettes. My grandmother has smoked cigarettes for most of her life and she was never an illicit drug user.
6. Gangs: This is an example of deviant subculture, because to be part of a gang each person has to become a member through a series of non-conformist acts which are deviant to society. In order for them to keep their membership (to not be killed because once you are in, YOU ARE IN), they must be committed to the gang and their norms.
4. Tattoos: Although tattoos are popular and have been a trend for plenty years, they are still seen as deviant for many people. In my family, tattoos are seen as shameful and usually connected to gangs. I think that for many hispanics and other cultures, tattoos go against religious morals. El Salvador has a history of gangs and one of the features that gang members show is that they are covered in tattoos, which leads to the labeling of others as gang members. When I first got my tattoos I had to hide them from my parents, because I know that they would say:"only gang members have tattoos". Obviously I am not a gang member, but my parents are always so worried about what other people are going to think and say. This is not only my parents, I know other people who would look at people differently because of their tattoos even if their tattoos have absolutely nothing to do with gangs.
5. Smoking: Is another behavior that is seen as deviant although a good percentage of the nation and the world smokes. Once again, I will put my family as an example. For my family (as I am sure for others), once a kid smokes cigarettes, they are "doing drugs". Nicotine is a drug, but most people don't want to see it that way. For some parents if their kid is hanging out with someone who smokes, then that kid is bad and they think that this person is doing other drugs or smoking pot and they are also afraid that their child will do the same. cigarette becomes a joint. Edwin Sutherland would call this Differential association theory, which explains deviance as a learned behavior. I had this problem, because some of my friends started smoking and so my parents didn't want me hanging out with them, even though I didn't smoke cigarettes. My aunt rapidly assumed that my friend is a druggie because she smokes cigarettes. She started calling her a pot-head and a bad kid, meanwhile she never took the time to get to know the girl. I think that many parents do this. I understand why parents become alarmed, but it also isn't fair that some spread rumors about other people. This leads to the problem of the labeling theory. This theory describes deviance as being the result of the interpretation of a certain behavior by a group of people (usually a majority) and how the individuals who are labeled as deviant usually incorporate this judgment as part of their identity (Experience Sociology, p. 192). Although smoking is nothing to be proud of and it may lead to other drugs, I do not think people have the right to just falsely accuse others of being drug addicts because they smoke cigarettes. My grandmother has smoked cigarettes for most of her life and she was never an illicit drug user.
6. Gangs: This is an example of deviant subculture, because to be part of a gang each person has to become a member through a series of non-conformist acts which are deviant to society. In order for them to keep their membership (to not be killed because once you are in, YOU ARE IN), they must be committed to the gang and their norms.
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