Deviance

Deviance

Deviance is the sociological term for behavior outside of social norms. The primary factor that determines if a behavior is deviant is the act itself within the boundaries of what is expected within the society. What is deviant to one social group may be considered normal to another.

I had a hard time trying to think of an act of deviance. I wanted it to be something unique and noticeable yet not something illegal or that would cause trouble even after I explained it. My wife and I came up with the idea of telling my parents that I had decided to get a divorce and the reasoning was that I had become involved with someone else. That situation in itself would have shocked them, but I decided to go a little further and tell them that the “someone” else was a man. It may seem like an extreme thing to do for this paper, but I knew there would be significant reactions to both this news and also when I informed them that it was not true and all for a homework assignment. I was right.

First, I would like to state a disclaimer on this project. As I mentioned, my wife helped me come up with this but she was not present when I presented the news to my parents so she would not have to be subjected to anything hurtful or embarrassing. Second, we have 3 young children which were not present during the discussions or the acting out of this project for obvious reasons. This may be a touchy subject to many people and could cause harm in other people’s personal lives; however I know how my parents are and I chose to do this all in good fun.

It started off as a normal visit to my parents. They were not surprised to see me without my family because they just moved back into town and I was coming to help them unpack which is just easier without 3 kids underfoot. I didn’t want to just walk in and say “Hey mom and dad! Guess what? I’m leaving my family for another man”. I knew in order for them to take this seriously, I would have to carefully bring it up like it was a...