Deviant Norm Violation - Essay Example

Deviant Norm Violation of Firstly, I went to McDonald’s restaurant to have a meal with some of my friends. While being at the restaurant something happened that those who had accompanied me to the restaurant did not notice. A mother and her daughter entered the restaurant and I immediately established contact with her, my eyes were transfixed on her. She had average height, black curly hair and looked like she was eighteen years old. She stared at me and capped it with a smile as I also stared at her. This lasted for a while, because my friend whom I was with was busy enjoying his lunch and paid no attention to what I was doing. We were there for about twenty minutes and finally we left but only I knew the sequence of events. Having eye contact is necessary sometimes if you want to send a certain message to a person. When somebody is looking at you and you, in turn, end up being transfixed on someone, it is considered as a clear indication that communication signals have been sent. The recipient of the message is the one who is tasked with the work of trying to unravel what the eye contact and the smile meant. Though eye contact one can easily pass a message that would otherwise not have been passed. The use of eye contact is crucial in society as it forms a basis of passing confidential information even at public places. Deviance takes many forms and in sociology it had its attention directed at the mental instability, some social stigmas and finally the abuse of banned substances. Deviance is not a characteristic associated with somebody but it is made to look in a certain way b gaining support of the social institutions and beliefs. Race, class and gender may not be classified as someone’s individual characteristics but they are supported by the social ideologies and social institutions (Taylor, & Andersen, 2006, pp. 213-214). The way we dress is sometimes seen by as way to express our class in the society. Here the use of eye contact to suggest some messages to people is basically on how we make our social judgments. This is because people possess certain stereotypes regarding on how we interpret body languages. People in the society are sometimes against the use of body language like the use of eye contact to communicate because it is seen as a way to promote explicit sexual messages. This emanates from the perception that the users of this behavior are either engaged in criminal activities or are not morally and ethically upright by engaging in homosexuality, lesbianism and prostitution. This is because these groups have formulated symbolic signals, publications or any other symbol that they use to proclaim their identity .To some extent it determines ones level of mental stability because many mentally ill people are associated with peculiar ways and modes of dressing (Taylor, & Andersen, 2006, p. 212). The first time I was in company of a male friend when we went for lunch. Though we had dressed to kill nobody had bothered on how we were dressed in the end drawing no attention. This time round I was accompanied by a female friend and went to Alfred State Taco Bell for dinner. We went at the Taco Bell for dinner with her. This time round almost everybody was having a glimpse on what we were wearing. This was something that Dianna had found amusing because she kept laughing and giggling every other minute people glared at us. To me all the attention had shifted to my shoes because of their glittering surface and the designer finish it had been given. Certain social places have their code of dressing. So any form of deviation from the normal way people that frequent that place is more than likely that it will cause people to raise their eye brows. This is the reason there was profound sanctions at this eating parlor. This disapproval by the society is a clear indication that every place that people congregate has its set code of clothing like places of worship, sporting events, places of work and learning institutions. This is based on the fact that some people in the social system have defined, categorized and recorded some habits and behaviors as defiant not excluding dressing mannerisms. Gender relationships are also seen as another form of deviance depending on how people make their social judgments. In this context hen we sat down to enjoy our drink, other people had seen as violators of the social fabric by dating in public and we were such young people. This makes to quickly judge who is deviant and who is not deviant basing on our relationship (Taylor, & Andersen, 2006, p. 213). By donning very expensive looking clothes a person may be as well asserting the social status where he or she belongs. This is because when a well to do person mixes with people of a lower social ranking than theirs they are easily recognized. This explains why there a lot sanctions at this place I had dinner as compared to the first place I had lunch with my male friend thus it is best explained by the symbolic interaction theory that describes deviance as consequence of the perception of the people and the meanings people give to different types of behaviors. By dressing expensive clothing in low end society you are bound to be talked about because people have that eagerness to know more about your details because the levels of deviance are in the power of class and gender. Well to do people are expected to associate with people of the same class as theirs. This explains why deviance is caused factors within a culture and structures within the society. This concept is clearly explained in the labeling theory that describes that some groups have more power than others thus assigning deviant labels to others. After giving our order we proceeded and sat at a table which was a highly exposed. Some of the lads who were having their conversation were forced to stop to have a look at us not excluding the workers at the place we had gone to eat. Mainly my conversation with Dianna was centered on how everybody was struggling to have a look n what we were doing because they presumed on a date. As we moved out we stole the attention of some guys and girls who were dining at the top section of the restaurant to the extent of them standing on the table in order to catch a glimpse of us as we moved out. This time I noticed a significant difference on how people had behaved as compared to the previous occasion and it was more often. I kept pondering on what led to the drastic turn of events. Was it because I was with Dianna? Or was it because of the change of venue? Also what passed through my mind was that because the previous time we had gone for lunch but this time we had gone for dinner also might have played a role in the unexpected events turn of events. But all this probable solutions all pointed towards the same thing, they were more severe sanctions compared to the previous occasion. Form the first and second happenings they all gave different results. The third time I also went with Dianna but this time round we went to Terra Cotta coffee house in Alfred. Dressing a pink and green stripped dress with an orange coat Dianna looked elegant in her outfit. I was dressed in black slacks, black tie and shoes and after 15 minutes we arrived at our destination. When we arrived we found a mixture of almost all type of people and both of them had different modes of dressing. Some looked like art students, some like sports personalities, some two gentlemen dressed in black suits and really looked like they were of the business profession. There was an older couple besides some students clad in sweaters. Here nobody was bothered with our arrival. We got our drinks and proceeded to the outside table and sipped our drinks as we gazed at the passersby and proceeded with our conversation. When we were outside four other guys were also there. As I conversed with Dianna the people using the streets only gave us a glimpse and proceeded with their activities. Some two girls were having their meal behind us. They kept staring at me not ruling out my good looks as one of the reasons they were staring at me I thought to myself it was a sanction as well. We stayed there a little longer until everybody left and we also departed by seven in the evening Dianna was dropped at her residence and I proceeded my way. Though we had dressed to kill nobody bothered to get our attention. The different places we had visited all gave different results. The Terra Cotta had many different demographics as opposed to Alfred State Coffee Taco Bell where the sanctions were more profound as people’s attention was drawn by us on the way we had dressed. Because here everybody was trying to have a glimpse on us as Dianna and I continued with our errands. The places that we visited and this last destination nobody bothered our presence. According to the fifteen people that were present at that place were accustomed to people like visiting such places. This is evident by the cross mixture of the type of people present at that time. Also as we expected the passerby’s on the street but only gave a glimpse and walked away. The society has its mode of separation and stratification though they vary in the degree and complexity of the stratification. The dimension under which the separation is made is based on a single dimension to keep it a bit simpler as it is more associated with the contemporary societal set up. It is because of class that one can access certain privileges in the society. It because of class that the mode of dressing is shaped, the type of language being used, mannerisms of the people, tastes and other likings that people prefer most (Taylor, & Andersen, 2006, p. 214). When people were dining at the restaurant only people that were of the same caliber were seated together. This is because they belong to the same class in the society thus having a way of doing things according to the way they are done in their respective classes. This is because class is not just an attribute of individuals but is phenomenon that is prevalent feature in the society. Also the way we choose our friends is to some extent decided by class. This is evident because I only chose people who knew how to dress elegantly. In summary the occurrences of the sanctions were basically based on the choice of the places we wanted to go and visit but not on the elegance of how we were dressed. Reference Taylor, H. F., & Andersen, M. L. (2006). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society with infotrac. Belmont: Cengage Learning. . Read More