Part VChapter 27

Part 5: Ch. 27

People make “justifications” for deviance seen as valid by deviants but not by legal system or society

Denial of responsibility: Deviance due to acts or situations beyond

their controlDenial of injury:

mitigate act by alluding to lack of harmful consequences to anyone

Part 5: Ch. 27

Denial of the victim: legitimate their behavior by suggesting no

specific victim can be identified or that persons hurt “deserve” what happened to them

Appeal to higher loyalties: behavior justified as serving a greater good

Condemnation of the condemners: turning the table on accusers, focus on what accusers have done wrong

Denial of responsibility: Deviance due to acts or situations beyond

their controlPart 5: Ch. 27

Denial of injury: mitigate act by alluding to lack of harmful

consequences to anyoneDenial of the victim:

legitimate their behavior by suggesting no specific victim can be identified or that persons hurt “deserve” what happened to them

Appeal to higher loyalties: behavior justified as serving a greater

good Condemnation of the condemners:

turning the table on accusers, focus on what accusers have done wrong

Part 5: Ch. 27

Defense of necessity (Coleman, 1994)Everybody does it (Coleman, 1994)Justification by comparison Postponement

Part 5: Ch. 27

Part 5: Ch. 27

Interviews with 137 participants in a court-ordered diversion program for first-time offenders charged with theft, the majority for shoplifting

Part 5: Ch. 27

Denial of responsibility“I didn’t mean it”Frees subject from experiencing culpability

by being seen as victims of their environment

Offender views self as being acted upon rather than acting: blame poor parenting, bad companions, or internal forces

Allows offender to avoid disapproval of self or others which diminishes those influences as mechanisms of social control

Alcohol or drugs often cited as reason for shoplifters’ loss of self-control Part 5: Ch. 27

Denial of injury“I didn’t really hurt anybody”Shoplifters suggest that big stores like

Sears are easily able to afford the loss Denial of the victim

“They had it coming”Shoplifters view large stores as deserving

victims because they make excessive profits at the expense of ordinary people: theft is justified as retaliation

Part 5: Ch. 27

Condemnation of the condemners “The system is corrupt”Blame on law-makers and law-enforcers,

shifting focus from offender to those who disapprove of their theft

“Cops are thieves, too” and “judges take bribes”

Part 5: Ch. 27

Appeal to higher loyalties“I didn’t do it for myself”Mothers shoplifting for items for children

they could not afford to buyThe defense of necessity

Attempt to reduce guilt by arguing the offender had no other choice under circumstances: “I had no other choice”

Most often used when shoplifter states crime was necessary to help one’s family

Part 5: Ch. 27

Everybody does it The crime is common, unexceptional, and

therefore the offender is “normal”Justification by comparison

“If I wasn’t shoplifting I would be doing something more serious”

Shoplifting justified by comparing it to serious offenses like robbery

Postponement“I just didn’t think about it”Excuse strategy: offender suppresses

their feelings momentarilyPart 5: Ch. 27

Does neutralization of crime occur before its commission or as a rationalization after the fact?

How serious is shoplifting compared to other types of criminal or deviance? Can it rightfully be labeled a “gateway” criminal or deviant act?

Part 5: Ch. 27

Part VChapter 28

Part 5: Ch. 28

Sports have long been associated with construction & maintenance of masculinity among men and boysReinforces patriarchal values of

masculinity over femininityDevaluation of femininity reflected in

subordination of women as well as men who participate in non-masculine activities

Part 5: Ch. 28

Competitive sports emphasizing size, strength, & power reinforces and reaffirms masculinity of viewers or players

Preeminent “male” sports: football, basketball, ice hockey, and baseball which emphasize mental toughness, competitiveness, and domination

Athletics provide young men with status among peers, increasing their popularity and acceptance; those who do not play sports are stigmatized and may be seen negatively

Part 5: Ch. 28

Men in female-dominated occupations such as cheerleading encounter questions regarding their sexuality

To reaffirm their masculinity, these men emphasize masculine aspects of their job or seek administrative positions

Participants (n=17) drawn from cheerleading squad at Ohio public university; equally male and female, all white, between ages 18-25: focus groups and individual interviews

Part 5: Ch. 28

StigmaParticipation in a feminine sport: male

cheer-leaders are labeled as non-masculine & homosexual for “crossing over” into a female domain

One says he will avoid the stigma he faces by not cheering publicly at the game: He loves and attends the practices but he

has no plans to cheer at a football game Sexuality: male cheerleaders’ sexual

identities may also be questioned by others including fellow cheerleaders

Part 5: Ch. 28

Saving Face Male cheerleaders employ strategies to

minimize stigma of participating in female-dominated sport

TerritorialityMale cheerleaders adamant about

importance of men in cheerleading, even invoking history of sport as begun by men (women excluded at that time)

Part 5: Ch. 28

Women cheerleaders appear to be invested in helping men to maintain masculine guise & are willing to help elevate men into superior role

By ‘doing femininity” female cheerleaders show their submissiveness to men

Masculine Aspects - Toughness & Aggression Male cheerleaders seek to demonstrate their

heterosexuality by establishing toughness and masculinity

Male cheerleaders can hold their own against football team: project image they should not be messed with and able to protect themselves through use of violence if neededPart 5: Ch. 28

Sexual Objectification of Women

Hypermasculinity (Connell, 1992) becomes manifest when hostility exists toward gay men and heterosexual men attempt to create social distance between them

In cheerleading, the men do this in large part by sexualizing female cheerleaders

Female cheerleaders, acknowledging stereotypes about male cheerleaders, emphasize that “male cheerleaders are the most heterosexual males I ever met”

Part 5: Ch. 28

Women construct the men as both “brotherly” and “perverted” and provide defenses for the men’s sexualization of the women

Both the men and the women see the sexual objectification of women as a component of a man being masculine

Men emphasize a sexualized relationship with the women: it is cited as one reason why they chose to cheer

Part 5: Ch. 28

How do male cheerleaders reconcile their (masculine) identities within a female sport?

What are the consequences of participating in such a female-dominated sport and how do female cheerleaders react to male cheerleaders?

Part 5: Ch. 28