#Deviant Behavior

[sustancy]

#15 how sweet - this inspiration is new jeans and a bit of summer orange.

to download reblog + like + nice comment I’ll send it personally when you’ve done everything. thank you for being interested in my creation.

you can see more on my deviantart.

[boybasher]

[precursor-ao3]

Chapter 2 of Afterburn is live on AO3 and Wattpad! Click here for AO3

Click here for Wattpad

[blk-chauvinist]

Dumb Woke Logic....

[daemonsblackbird]

Can you imagine if every time you wanted to be inside me you’d have to fight me for it?

I wonder how hard I’d fight.

[roswellsplace]

Prometheus: Evolution of New Ideas

In a world that often prioritizes conformity, exceptional thinking finds its home in environments that tolerate deviance. Deviance, in this context, emerges when cultural goals clash with established norms. It is within societies that value goal achievement over strict norm enforcement that creative deviation truly flourishes. Organizations may not always support every creative idea, but…

[gravitascivics]

THEN THERE’S ANOMIE

Two honored sociologists who have contributed to the general understanding of deviant behavior have been Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Robert Merton (1910-2003).  The last posting of this blog, which has been presenting a series of postings regarding the development of deviant proclivities in American culture, introduced the work of Durkheim and Merton.  That posting indicated this one would share a model these writers, from different time periods, collectively present regarding deviance.

          To begin, Durkheim noted that suicide rose in times of prosperity.  Baffled, he began to theorize that in modern times people are subject to egoistic suicides, that is, suicides that are motivated by the inability to deal with fast paced societies and their unrealistic goals.  In general, modern society promotes lofty goals while designating norms regarding acceptable behavior as it addresses those goals. 

Further, people are socialized to accept these goals.

American culture is characterized by great emphasis on the accumulation of wealth as a success symbol without a corresponding emphasis on using legitimate means to march toward this goal … [D]eviant behavior among certain classes in American society cannot be explained by a lack of opportunity alone or by an exaggerated emphasis on a pecuniary value nexus … It is the set of equalitarian beliefs in American society, stressing the opportunity for economic affluence and social ascent for all of its members, which makes for the difference.[1]

If true, certain recent developments can’t help adding to deviant levels.  That is, one can add to this mix of sentiments that a certain condition promotes.  That is, a significant portion of the population has had its economic foundations pulled out from under it, such as the exportation of a significant number of manufacturing jobs during the recent past. 

This results in the chasm between aspirations and reality and consequently, one can expect levels of deviance to increase.  They can even be justified by disrupters as means to attain the goals Durkheim identifies.  It is the opinion of this blogger that much of the polarized state of American politics one observes today can be attributed to this development.

          And Merton outlines forms of behavior patterns that such disruptive conditions encourage, but common to these deviant adaptive patterns is the feeling of anomie.  Anomie can be defined as a pervading sense:  a fatalistic lack of cohesion with society.  This sense can permeate among certain groups within the nation.  Merton believed that lower income groups were naturally more predisposed to anomie.[2]

          Given the historical progression this series has outlined in earlier postings – the progression from transcendentalism, pragmatism, and perceptual psychology – the progression has glorified individualism and self-centeredness.  Plus, sociological/economic developments – increasing divorce rates, globalization of the economy, exportation of manufacturing jobs – anomie has become prevalent among larger segments of the population.[3]

          This state of conditions naturally affects schools.  The teacher corps and other school professionals around the country should be concerned with augmenting social norms which encourage non deviant behavior, and at the same time try to impart the necessary skills that empower individuals in attaining their social and economic goals.  But beyond that, those very goals need to be questioned.  While this blogger denotes a tinge of elitism in the Merton model, the reality is that pecuniary rewards are inordinately emphasized in this nation’s society.

          As pointed out earlier in this series, American society lacks a substantive cultural philosophy.  What philosophy it has is made up of vague notions of the “American dream” and individual rights.  Institutions such as American education have promoted individualism.  One finds oneself hearing only a limited social message in this vacuum, from Madison Avenue or disinformation being constantly emitted through social media.[4] 

As for advertising, the message is simple and direct:  buy things and services.  As for social media:  “you are getting screwed and you need to support X.”  Either way, social worth is most exclusively tied to the ability to attain the things advertised or be associated with those who are sharing a delegitimate status while joining together to save the day.

With more and more misalignment – i.e., social ties lacking meaningful commitments – or the availability of meaningful employment especially among low educated people, the social conditions leading to anomie are readily observable.  Add to this the communication facility that social media affords, and the mix is quite disruptive and deviant.

With that staging, social studies curriculum development has a “full plate” of challenges to address.  That will be the topic of the next posting as this blog continues this series of postings addressing deviance in the American culture.  And just to give this notion of a curricular response legitimacy, one should keep the meanings of anomie – lacking social and ethical standards – and nihilism – rejecting moral principles due to seeing life as meaningless – in mind.

[1] Marshall B. Clinard, “The Theoretical Implications of Anomie and Deviant Behavior,” in Anomie and Deviant Behavior, edited by Marshall B. Clinard (New York, NY:  The Free Press, 1964), 1-56, 14-15.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Given inherit challenges with measuring anomie among a population, the literature is not “one-sided” as to the levels and consequences of anomie to American society.  See for example, Jean Paul Azzopardi, “America’s Overdose of Anomie,” Medium, January 10, 2017, accessed March 4, 2024, URL:  https://medium.com/@jp_azzopardi/americas-overdose-of-anomie-1c0049844774#:~:text=They%20believe%20that%20American%20society,actively%20resist%20any%20institutional%20controls.

[4] In terms of the latter, see Barbara McQuade, Attack from Within:  How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America (New York, NY:  Seven Stories Press, 2024).

[precursor-ao3]

@cas-y28 wow!! I’m having a pretty horrible couple of days so I really appreciate this, haha. This is so amazing and cool!! I totally agree with you. The transformation in appearance before and after seems totally on brand >:D

Amazing work!!

@precursor-ao3

My interpretation of phoenix <3 I have to finish natural selection omg 😭

I always imagined her bleaching and straightening her curly hair during the marrige, then cutting off the blonde and letting her roots grow out after the divorce.

[cheezitofthevalley]

stamps for constipated girlies

this is what ya'll meant by aesthetic, right?

also girlies and bro are gender inclusive terms and you can't tell me otherwise

[kaira-ars]

Meowl Pals! Casey & Mae! 🥺✨

Mae... This lass has captivaded me...

I simply love this game and its story. It's so wholesomely raw and realistic! I genuinely and deeply appreciate good, communicative art with intention in its creation... And this game has sparked so many new reflections in me about the world and art itself, despite all and everything :')

[blk-chauvinist]

Pride Month Reality Check...

[analogboii]

i think its funny that when chan performed railway people were like "CHRISTOPHER WHAT IS THIS BEHAVIOR" as if this man isnt perpetually horny on main 💀💀

[roswellsplace]

convention vs. deviance

Some notes on convention vs. deviance/moral agency in decision making as researched by Dickson-Gomez, Pacella, Broaddus, Quinn, Galletly, & Rivas (2017) Reference: Dickson-Gomez J, Pacella M, Broaddus MR, Quinn K, Galletly C, Rivas J. Convention Versus Deviance: Moral Agency in Adolescent Gang Members’ Decision Making. Subst Use Misuse. 2017 Apr 16;52(5):562-573. doi:…

[dumvixerum]

I think deviancy is kinda like being queer :

As you grow up, you slowly do gayer and gayer stuff until you realize that you're queer.

Unless someone or something shoves it into your face ofc

[fem-the-artist]

If they can make the joke in El Dorado, I think it’s ok if I do it here

[rustbeltjessie]

Naively, I did not expect shaving my head to be a big deal. I did not know I was about to lose my second summer job answering phones at my dad’s law firm because, as the office manager would explain, clients started asking if I had cancer. I did not intend to launch a flaming arrow into anyone’s highly combustible gender-based worldview. I certainly did not expect to hear “Hey Sinéad” every day for the next two years.

People assumed that I had shaved my head to look like Sinéad O’Connor. I was a huge fan of Sinéad; when I saw her perform in 1990 and she sang only two songs before running off stage, my fascination only increased. When people asked, I insisted that I hadn’t shaved my head to look like Sinéad, but it would be a lie to say that she wasn’t part of the formula. Sinéad provided inspiration, and the discomfort of long hair on a hot day was my motive. All I needed was a big dose of teenage recklessness (check!) and an opportunity.

—Sarah Orman, from "Hey Sinéad" (oranges journal, December 2023)