![]() Related to the process of labeling by others is the process of self-labeling: attaching a deviant label to oneself. In other words, a label is more than a name instead, a label is created through a social process that creates deviance (Lemert 1951). In so doing, they live up to their label. For example, former drug users still carry the label of “addict.” This derogatory label makes it difficult for them to get jobs, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will return to a life of addiction. Although some labels are positive, such as “smart” or “athletic,” other labels are derogatory and by definition carry a stigma: an implication that the person is morally unworthy of respect, disreputable, and, possibly, dangerous. Thus, an initial act of mild and transient deviance becomes a serious, permanent act of deviance (Lemert 1951).Ĭlosely related to the concepts of primary and secondary deviance is the concept of labeling: the process of defining individuals as deviant. Thus, if you were to start relying on uppers and your life were to begin revolving around obtaining enough drugs to get through the day, your friends would then regard you as a drug addict, and you would self-identify as an addict. ![]() In contrast, secondary deviance consists of normative violations and a corresponding deviant identity initiated by primary deviance. For instance, if you were to occasionally take a stimulant (“upper”) to get through a stretch of intense exams while working full time, your friends probably would not think of you are a habitual drug addict, nor would you think of yourself as an addict. For the most part, these violations are regarded as mildly deviant. Primary deviance consists of normative violations that do not produce a deviant self-identity. Many symbolic interactionists assert that deviance consists of two broad types. ![]() Taking this assertion as a starting point, several more specific explanations of deviance have been offered. According to the symbolic interaction perspective, deviance and crime are produced by the processes of social interaction and the attachment of meaning to behavior.
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