Make Me Bad: A Cross Cultural Comparison of Deviance

When you hear the term deviance what comes to mind?  For many people it may be breaking the law or engaging in some sort of criminal activity, but these are extreme examples of deviant behavior.  Deviance or deviant behavior is defined as any behavior that is socially defined as violating socially accepted guidelines or expectations.  This means that any violation of social norms, from the minor to the extreme, within a society is a form of deviant behavior.  Deviance does vary by culture, however, and what may be considered deviant in one culture may not be in another.  Today's blog post is dedicated to a comparing and discussing deviance as it relates to specific cultures.  Two behaviors considered innocent in American culture but deviant in others will be discussed first, followed by a behavior that is identified as extremely deviant in our culture but a daily and mundane activity in another.  Through this discussion of deviance you should gain a greater understanding and appreciation of what specifically deviance is, as well as cultural diversity that exists across the globe.

In American culture there are a great many behaviors and activities that are considered deviant.  Aside from the major violations (e.g. breaking the law) there are several minor violations that you may not initially think of as deviant.  Chewing with one's mouth open and eating with one's hands are two examples of deviant behaviors that exist in American culture, but they are considered perfectly acceptable in other cultures.

Figure 1: Chewing Gum Ban in Singapore (Image Source: Stain Eaters)

There are behaviors in American culture that are not considered deviant but if conducted in other cultures would earn the violator a a minimum a raised eye brow.  For example, in Canadian culture it is unacceptable to enter a home, even a vacant home, with one's shoes on.  Canadians remove their shoes before or just upon entering a home and failure to do so is considered very rude and disrespectful to the home and the owner(s).  Another example of a deviant behavior that exists in another culture but not in American culture is chewing gum.  In Singapore it is illegal, unless you have a prescription, to chew gum, which is related to the cultural value of cleanliness of the overall environment (Figure 1).  Gum chewing is seen as leading to littering, hence why it is illegal.  Failure to comply with this law leads to violators to be fined up to $1000 USD for the first violation, and fines double upon a second violation.  Chewing gum is neither illegal or considered largely deviant within American culture, so this norm may be considered odd to Americans while perfectly normal among the citizens of Singapore.

Figure 2: Etoro Culture (Image Source: StarrFM)

On the opposing side are violations to norms that exist in American culture but not in others.  An example of this exists in the Etoro culture of Papua New Guinea (Figure 2).  The Etoro believe that men have a finite amount of sperm.  The Etoro recognize the importance of sperm in reproduction and conception, but because they believe there is a finite amount of sperm that exists they strictly regulate sexual relations among men and women, discouraging unnecessary sexual relations and allowing sexual relations to occur during specific times of the year.  They also believe that boys do not create their own sperm but instead receive it from men who must pass it on to the boys when the men are no longer willing to father children.  Prepubescent boys are sequestered to huts with adult men who teach the boys about being adult men.  During this period the boys learn about sexual relations with women, as well as participate in the ritual of passing on the sperm from the men to the boys, which takes the form of oral sexual relations among the boys and men.  This is considered an extreme norm violation among Americans (specifically, pedophilia), but this ritual among the Etoro is neither sexualized nor identified as deviant.  It is considered a required part of the biological well being of the Etoro boys and seen as a necessity to keep future generations of Etoro to live and thrive.

In conclusion, deviance does vary cross culturally because norms and values are unique to each culture.  There can be some overlap in deviance among cultures (e.g. the incest taboo), but there can also be specificity among those overlaps (e.g. the definitions of what is considered incestuous does vary by culture).  Overall, deviance is any norm violation, which provides us a great deal of insight into cultures, specifically cultural values and beliefs.  Taken together, this allows us to better understand what specifically it means to be human, and how there really is no consistency in regards to right and wrong in respects to being human.

Bibliography



Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2014).  Cultural Anthropology McGraw-Hill  

Kelly.  2011.  "Deviance: Chewing Gum in Singapore."  Kelly's Blog.





Welsch, R.L. & L.A. Vivanco.  (2015).  Cultural Anthropology: Asking Questions About Humanity.  Oxford University Press.