L37 - Sickness as a form of social deviance

Question 1

Definition of deviance

Answer 1

Violation of social norms (therefore deviance varies according to norms and no action is inherently deviant)

Question 2

Societal reaction and deviance

Answer 2

Deviance is relative (variable based on time) as it is socially, culturally and politically determined.

e.g. homosexuality removed from the list of sociopathic conditions due to political reasons

Question 3

Sickness (in terms of deviance)

Answer 3

Sickness is an undesirable form of deviance away from the desirable social norm of being healthy

Question 4

Disease, illness and sickness

Answer 4

If a person is diagnosed by a health professional (disease) or considered ill by oneslf, one’s family or community (illness), then he will be labelled socially as sick (sickness)

Question 5

Sick role rights and duties

Answer 5

Rights:

1) exempt from usual responsibilities
2) not responsible for one’s illness

Duties:

1) should want to get well
2) seek and accept professional help

Question 6

Definition of label and labelling

Answer 6

Label: defines an individual as a particular kind of person

Labelling: the process whereby individual characteristics are identified and given a label

Question 7

Primary deviance vs secondary deviance

Answer 7

Primary deviance: any general deviance before the deviant is labelled (often undetected)

Secondary deviance: any deviance take place after primary deviance as a reaction of one’s label (social identification) as a deviant after deviance are discovered and made public

Question 8

Stigma definition

Answer 8

A label that changes the way one is viewed socially, esp in negative manner

• based on attributes
• violation of norms of ability, appearance and others

Question 9

Stigmatized deviance

Answer 9

Violated norms of ability (deafness, blindness, mental handicap)

Violated norms of appearance (obesity, albinism, disfiguration)

Violated other norms (homosexuality, HIV)

Question 10

Basis of Friedson’s classification of deviance

Answer 10

Based on imputation of responsibility (legitimacy) and degree of seriousness

Question 11

Illegitimate deviance definition

Answer 11

• Deviants are exempted from normal social obligations by virtue of their deviance
• Technically they are not responsible
• Few privileges gained
• Take on handicaps such as STIGMA
  e. g. stammer, epilepsy

Question 12

Conditionally legitimate deviance definition

Answer 12

- TEMPORARILY exempted from normal obligations

• Gain some extra privileges in the proviso that they seek help in order to rid themselves of their deviance
  e. g. acute illness such as cold or influenza

Question 13

Unconditionally legitimate deviance definition

Answer 13

• Deviants exempted PERMANENTLY from normal obligations
• Granted additional privileges in view of the hopeless nature of their deviance
  e. g. Terminal cancer

Question 14

Friedson’s classification of deviance

(Cancer, cold, epilepsy, pneumonia, pockmarks, stammer)

Answer 14

Question 15

Medicalisation of deviance

Answer 15

The process of defining an increasing number of life’s problems (non-medical) as medical problems

Implication: redefine punishable illegitimate deviance into legitimate sickness deviance; require medical treatment instead of social punishment

Question 16

Reasons behind medicalisation of deviance

Answer 16

• Suffering became a technical problem to be solved by the “doctor”
• Rise of media/advertising promotes consumerism
• Pharmaceutical industry creates “ill” for a pill (i.e. disease mongering e.g. Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder ADHD; or baldness)

Question 17

90/10 gap

Answer 17

90% of global health R&D expenditure devoted to problems affecting 10% of global population (correlate to medicalisation of deviance)

Question 18

Example of medicalisation of social deviance

Answer 18

Abnormal sex preference - medicalise to mental disorders such as paraphilia/Disorder of sexual preference