A Deviant Act That Is Not Criminal in Nature Essay

The text gave an example of a deviant act that is not criminal in nature. What other types of deviant acts can you think of that do not violate criminal laws? Many deviant acts are acts that depart from are social norms. Every society has its basic social norms; it may vary a bit, because of so many different multi-cultural societies. Even so I can safely say that most societies have the same universal belief when it comes to social norms. Social norms are very serious if an individual commits a deviant act, the community will automatically demand punishment. In some cases the individual will be punished by the society but will not face a criminal charge by the government. Many deviant acts do not violate written laws; therefore individual cannot be charge with a criminal violation. There are so many different perspectives to social norms that makes the United State vary in what is legal and what is not. A great example is polygamy, this act is outside of our social norms, but in Nevada there is no criminal charge for plural marriage even though it is not legal in most states. Another example would be cross-dressing it is considered to be a deviant act in most parts of the world not because it is criminal in nature; but because of the act itself is outside the boundaries of our social norms. Homosexuality is also another big controversy in regards to our social norms today, it is considered to be a deviant act nevertheless it is not a criminal violation. There are many act that I would consider to be deviant acts but are not punishable by law. A disowning of a child, giving up a child up for adoption, or simply not taking responsibility for a child, that can be and should be considered deviant act with criminal punishment; unfortunately, it is not a criminal violation. Divorce can also be looked at as a deviant act in some societies because when one joins in marriage it is for the rest of their lives, there is no petitioning for a divorce; that would just be departing from our social norms. In many cases there are little things that can be considered outside the social norms like: A male with long hair, a female with no hair on her head, or a child taking a small amount of money from parents purse or wallet without his/her permission is a bad act but is not punishable by law. Here I wrote many examples I could think of that can be considered a deviant acts but them actually becoming a criminal violation is not near. Our society today is leaning away from our social norms to the point that we the people are ignoring what we were thought by our elders of what the basic social norms should be.