Societal Reactions to Deviance

Abstract

A common complaint about the sociology of deviance, particularly the perspective known as labeling theory or the societal reaction perspective, is that the field is dead. However, considerable evidence suggests that the core themes of societal reaction work live on in several areas of contemporary scholarship. After identifying and describing three key strands of the early societal reaction perspective, I consider how those strands are reflected in more recent work, much of which does not explicitly reference the earlier tradition. I identify the ways that recent scholarship builds upon and yet extends the earlier societal reaction tradition. I close by describing three trajectories emerging in recent work that should focus future inquiry: the contingent effects of labeling, the causes of gaps between social control discourse and practice, and the diffusion of social control practices from deviants to nondeviants.

The Social Construction of Child Social Control via Criminalization and Medicalization: Why Race Matters

“…In many ways, contemporary trends in the criminalization and medicalization of child behavior present updated forms of this social construction. Comparable to a century earlier, claims of “out of control” youth crime and deviance filled the popular discourse (Grattet ; Simon ). Similarly, American education was undergoing a series of major changes in compulsory education, as the adoption of standardized testing brought new attention to “failing” children and schools nationwide (Figlio ; Hinshaw and Scheffler ).…”

“…In the United States, two institutions are traditionally responsible for formal social control: the criminal justice and medical/healthcare systems (Grattet ; Medina and McCranie ). These institutions classify and control behavior according to their own values, assumptions, and procedures (Conrad ; Medina and McCranie ; Simon ).…”

“…Criminalization and medicalization occur when societies begin to control behavior via the attitudes and practices of the criminal justice and medical systems, respectively (Conrad ; Grattet ; Heitzeg ; Simon ). Early social construction scholars argued that the criminal justice and medical professions worked independently and cooperatively to define and manage child deviance and delinquency (Conrad and Schneider ).…”

Medicalização, risco e controle social

“…Nesse sentido, o funcionamento rizomático dos dispositivos biopolíticos explicaria por que as tecnologias e as estratégias utilizadas pelas instituições de controle social refletem discursos muito mais amplos sobre a ordem moral da sociedade, a partir de uma lógica comum das estratégias e tecnologias políticas que acabam se expandindo para diversas configurações de controle social (Rose, O'Malley e Valverde, 2006;Grattet, 2011).…”

“…O propósito da análise a ser empreendida não responde ao interesse em ressuscitar a clássica sociologia do desvio hoje considerada definitivamente morta por muitos pesquisadores (Grattet, 2011). Trata-se, sim, de um esforço para identificar até que ponto, por que e como o saber médico é convocado para proporcionar respostas sobre a etiologia do crime e de outros desvios normativos e, além disso, como essas respostas biomédicas inserem-se no contexto mais amplo de um novo tipo de racionalidade que organizaria as respostas sociais a certos tipos de ameaças e perigos que escapam aos mecanismos de controle dos esquemas institucionais das sociedades contemporâneas.…”