Running head: FINAL PAPER- DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

Final Paper Deviance and Social Control
Sociological Foundations
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Matthew Charles Colaw
November 16, 2010

Abstract This paper is covering the different forms of deviance and social control. The word deviance is defined by actions or behaviors that violate a cultural norm. Deviance can be a formal crime or an in-formal act that is not perceived as normal in the culture. Each culture or group in this paper has different sets of norms and moral standards. This paper will discuss deviance within cultures and that many cultures can have different views on deviance. Social control is developed within
The Muslim men treat women more like property. There are many examples where the Muslim men will beat and rape their wives. In the Muslim culture this is acceptable. In America it would be considered a criminal act. This is an example of how different cultural deviances can differ from one religious view point to another. In America it is deviant to be in a public street mostly nude. Americans do not perceive someone standing on the street almost completely nude as a normal act. In the textbook there is an example of a man standing in a city street in Hyderabad, India almost naked. In India this act is not uncommon since the neighborhood that the nude man lives in has no running water. Many men, women, and children bathe at neighborhood water pumps. For this man’s culture he is not deviant. In contrast, in America, this act is far from the norm so the act would become deviant. In the textbook the next example of cultural deviance takes place in Chennai, India. In the book a man puts the snakes inside his nostrils and out his mouth. In America this would definitely not be a cultural norm. Even in India it is not a common practice to take snakes in your nose and out your mouth in a public place. (Jim Henslin, 2010) An interesting example of what most would think is cultural deviance, can actually be a cultural norm at the same time. In the text book members of the mafia intertwine manliness and