SOC224 Midterm 3

W/ Sharon Springer

Social typing process

1. Description: using labels to group people

2. Evaluation: making assumptions/moral judgements based in these characteristics

3. Prescription: social control and responses performed on individuals based on those perceptions

Charles Cooley

“Looking-Glass Self”

1. How do others see me?

2. How do others evaluate me?

3. How does their evaluation make me feel about myself?

The “I” and the “Me” (George Mead)

I: Subject with power and agency

Me: self as an object perceived by others

Components of Self (Higgens)

• The actual self: who you actually are

• The ought-to-be self: who you should be

• The ideal self: who you want to be

Ed Sheerans “Beautiful People” social typing process

Description: “beautiful people”

Evaluation: “overindulgent, shallow, materialistic, surrounded but alone”

Prescription: disregard their judgment. Ignore what other people think and just enjoy yourself

Objectivist approach for determining deviant physcial appearance

1. Statistical rarity

2. Normative Violation

3. Harm

4. Negative societal reaction

disembodiement

feeling of disconnect betweeb inner self and outer bodies. Views the body as “just a container,” and what actually matters is on the inside

embodiment

how object-body is experienced, produced, sustained, and/or transformed as a subject body

Erving Goffman: The presentation of self in everyday life (1959)

Determined the performance of self through dramaturgical performance involving:

1. Front: the way we present ourselves to the public/crowd

2. Back: how we act in private when not in front of crowd

3. Impression Management: the methods and techniques used to manage the impression others have of us

appearance norms as social constructs

What we define as norm and deviant in regards to apperance is subjective. It changes over time.

two standards that determine “ideal body types”

1. Scientific Standards: measured by quantitative stats like BMI, Visceral Fat, or health risks (hypertension, diabetes, cancer)

2. Social Standards:

medico-scientific understandings of obesity

1. Genetics: inherited traits and DNA variations

2. Endocrinology: how hormones regulate energy and appetite

3. Neurochemical: how brain signaling and neural circuits impact appetite and food choices.

sociological understandings of obesity

• all you can eat

• increased standard of living

• Processed food

• Poor quality food being comparatively cheaper

Ozempic

Shifted the discourse from moralizing (obesity was a moral failure via lack of willpower or discipline) to medical (reframes it as a biomedical condition that is treatable)

Shifts focus from biomedical researchers to addressing higher mortality issues to focus on weight/metabolic conditions (more profitable)

The Picture of Dorian Gray

A book by Oscar Wilde. Aims to show how society views youth as the primary method for beauty. Shows how people will go to great lengths to maintain youthful look and will still be terrible people.

Recent trends more ideal body type in media

Female: thinner

Male: leaner and more muscular

The Vogue Factor by Kirstie Clements (2014)

Book that focused on the cruelty and lack of realism in the beauty industry (vogue in particular).

• Models passed out backstage

• Many have anorexia and bulimia

• High usage of drugs and diuretics

Powerless by Nelly Furtado (2003)

Song that talks about how the media and magazines look to make her appear whiter, thinner, and younger

How much does the average Canadian woman spend on beauty and cosmetics per year

~$1500-$1800 / year

How do individuals rationalize their participation in the beauty and cosmetic industry

• Aesthetics: improve visual appearance

• Individuality: expression of self in a unique way

• Health: striving to be fit (physically or psychologically)

West and Zimmerman “Doing Gender” (1987)

Physical appearance and body standards are tied to gendered social performances and vary depending on culture.

Political economic perspective (critical)

Capitalism inherently creates profit by cheating, manipulating, and expanding markets around physical appearance. Creating a Sisyphean experience. Believes that industry is ageist, classist, and racist

Sisyphean exercise

Industry relies on constant media portrayals that make people insecure creating perpetual dissatisfaction. This creates an endless cycle of purchasing products, cosmetics, and procedures to fix it.

1980/90s expansion of market to men

Trends for more single men encouraged them to be divided into target groups. These included:

• working class

• Gay market

• Trendies

• Pleasure seekers

Gay Market

a consumer demographic targeted by corporations to create new profits that was centered around gay men

Simone de Beauvoir (1972)

beauty is described as a form of work that enables a women to take possession of her person. This idea is provided by advertisements which give us the illusion of autonomous self-creation

Michel Foucault Critical Ontology of Self (1977)

used to analyze how advertisements and beauty standards regulate self-identity and physical appearance. These discourses (beliefs) are dominate what people believe and going against these is viewed as deviant

Skater boy social typing process

Description: “Skater boy”

Evaluation: more than meets the eye, a rebel, a punk

Prescription: see ya later boy (marginalized), looked down upon

two main correlates to crime

1. Age (men are more likely)

2. Gender (younger is more likely)

trend of youth crime rate

Decreasing over time. In 2018 violent crimes overtook property crimes as the most prominent crimes

violent crimes categorization

Assault 1 (common assault): spit, push, slap

Assault 2 (assault causing bodily harm): involves usage of a weapon causing harm

Assault 3 (aggravated assault): sexual assault, assault with deadly weapon, causes long-term harm

Crime severity index (CSI)

the measure for assessing both the volume and seriousness of police‑reported crime. Uses a severity weight associated with different crimes and creates a standardized index using 2006 as the base (100)

Why was the crime severity index (CSI) lowest in covid?

• less opportunity

• disruption of social spaces

• Shifts in policing priorities in monitoring public health compliance rather than street crime

Most common youth crimes via statscan 2021

1. Assault 1 (common assault like slap or push)

2. Mischief (vandalism)

3. Shoplifting under $5000

4. Uttering threats

5. Assault 2 (assault causing bodily harm)

Public perceptions of youth crime vs reality

People believe they are out of control, and youth are increasingly violent and criminal. This is due to social media, media, and government programs

Troubled youth

Pose a risk to themselves. Ex. drug addicts, self-harm.

troubling youth

Those who pose a risk to others and society as a whole. Ex. organized crime, gang members

punishable young offender

describes the discursive construction of some young offenders as “troublesome” and requiring punishment to make them accountable for their criminal actions.

reformable young offender

describes the discursive construction of some teens as “troubled” and needing intervention to rehabilitate them

objective definitions of deviance

• Deviance is a quality

• Deviance is a common trait

subjective definitions of deviance

• deviance is a process

• No common trait

• People in power determine what needs controlling and label it deviant

risk factors of deviance

increases the likelihood of a deviant activity from occurring

protective factors of deviance

decreases the likelihood of deviant activity from occurring

biological/genetic factors related to youth deviance

believed the development of the nucleus accumbens (processes rewards and pleasures) and prefrontal lobe (manages decision-making and rationals) rationalesdevelopment increase/decrease deviance. This believes the nucleus accumbens develops faster than prefrontal lobe

Psychological factors related to youth deviance

Risk factors: poor mental health, low self-esteem, antisocial behaviors

Protective factors: intellectual skills, interpersonal skills, positive self-esteem

social learning theories

Believes behavior is a learned process acquired through conditioning, observation, and socialization processes. They are objectivist.

Operant conditioning theory (B.F. Skinner)

behavior is learned and shaped by system of rewards and punishments. Positive = added

Negative = removed

Modelling/Imitation theory (Alfred Bandura)

Performed the bobo doll experiment to determine how youth react and imitate the actions around them

General theory of crime (Hirschi & Gottfredson)

Low-self control is the primary explanation for deviant activity

psychoanalytic theory (Sigmund Freud)

Believes deviance stems from an imbalance in ID, Ego, and Superego. Occurs when ID dominates

ID: unconscious, pleasure-seeking. ID = Impulsive/devil

Superego: internalized societal rules, morals, and norms. Societal = super/angel

Ego: conscious mind that balances ID and Superego with rationals. Ego = refereean

The delinquent ego (Wineman 1951)

An undeveloped superego or inadequate ego leads to increase in deviance

cognitive information processing theory

behavior is a three step-thought process;

1. Encode/interpret situation

2. Search for the best response

3. Act on the decision

Theory of moral development (Kohlberg 1958)

A three-stage process for moral development

1. Preconventional: 3-7 years, avoid punishment, obtain rewards

2. Conventional: 8-13 years, belong and be accepted, obey rules and regulations

3. Post-conventional: adulthood, make and keep promises, live by morals

conduct disorder

A diagnosis for adults categorizes someone as disruptive, loud, lacking impulse control, persistent rule-breaking, and aggressive. Stems from both biological and environmental factors factors

etiology

the factors that cause something.

Ex. starvation can be an etiology of stealing food

Structural functionalism Emile Durkheim

Believes society is naturally stable and connected, deviance is caused by anomie.

anomie

a condition of instability resulting from the breakdown of standards and values and lack of social cohesion

travis hirschi social bonds theory

People (youth) fail to deviate due to four key reasons:

1. Attachment: emotional ties to others (parents, teachers, peers)

2. Commitment: investment in conventional society (education, career, reputation)

3. Involvement: participation in time-consuming activities (sports, homework)

4. Belief: internal agreement with moral values and legitimacy if the law (morality, fairness)

Strain Theory (Robert Merton 1910-2003)

There is an imbalance between institutionalized goals and legitimate means of achieving them,

Creates rebellion, ritualism, retreatists, and innovation. This is the most cited sociological study

General Strain Theory (Robert Agnew 1953)

argued Mertons strain theory was only focused on the economy as source of strain. He applied strain theory to

1. Blocked from achieving any positively valued goal

2. loss of something valuable

3. Presentation of negative stimuli

Differential opportunity theory (Richard Cloward & Lloud Ohlin 1960)

People have differing opportunity structures and react to strain differently based on their differential opportunity. Creates differential illegitimate opportunity, leading to double failures where people lack both the legitimate and illegitimate means to achieve goals

Status Frustration theory (Albert Cohen 1895-1981)

explains youth delinquency among lower-class, racialized children. They are often upset with their status and fail to see meritocracy work, so they begin to reject the ideas and create a new standard.

meritocracy

belief that hard work and talent will lead to success

what form of deviance is more prevalent with women/girls

indirect, relational, and socially aggressive forms such as ostracization, bullying, rumours, etc.

What forms of deviance are men/boys more likely to commit

Men commit more violent acts of deviance, typically physical and direct forms like assault, violent conduct, battery, etc

Folk devils & moral panic (Stanley Cohen 1972)

Analyzed youth crime in England where manufactured media stories painted mods and rockers as folk devils creating a moral panic

Reena Virk (1983-1997)

14-year-old Reena Virk was murdered by a group of 8 youths (1 boy and 7 girls), Warren Glowatski and Kelly Ellard were charged with 2nd-degree murder. This case led to a national moral panic regarding young women and violence.

Media gendering violence with Kelly Ellard and Reena Virk

The media used Kelly Ellard to sensationalize female violence and create a narrative that contrasted her actions as opposing ttradtional constructions of girlhood/femininity

Nasty Girl Moral Panic (Barron and Lacombe 2005)

showed how the media projected late-modernity anxieties onto “nasty girls.” They framed these nasty girls as sinister products of feminism who were aggressive and didn’t adhere to traditional feminine views. They labelled people like Alanis Morisette as such.

Conflict theory (associated with Karl Marx)

views society as an arena of continual struggle for resources and power and certain groups have privileged access to them. Believed proletariat is exploited by capitalists and capitalism is alienating.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

A novel that portrays the harsh realities of industrial capitalism involving exploitation of workers, unsafe working conditions, and poverty endured by working-class labourers

structural marxism

views legal systems as operating to protect structure and create long-term stability of the capitalist economic system rather than just a tool for wealthy people

instrumental marxism

views the legal system and social policies as direct instruments manipulated by ruling class (capitalist elite) to maintain wealth and power

Instrumental theory of deviance (Richard Quinney 1970)

Focused on inequality in decision-making of public policies and law and how they are instruments used to maintain their own power and wealth. Believes crime is a political concept created by those who hold power to suppress those who do not.

indigenous representation for Canadian federal inmates

They are severely overrepresented in the Canadian incarceration system with 28.1% of inmates but only ~5% of total population

differential treatment hypothesis (explains systemic biases in law enforcement)

1. Police often give closer attention to certain social groups (low-class, male, youth, racialized)

2. Police surveillance is highest in communities with unemployment, poverty, social disorders, and minorities

3. Race and ethnicity may influence police in making arrests, stops, or searches

a theory of african american offending (Unnever and Gabbidon 2011)

Most African Americans believe they will face racial prejudice and discrimination during their lives. These injustices generate extreme negative emotions and contribute directly to criminal involvement or weakened social bonds