Provide an example of a human behavior that is considered deviant in one society, but is not considered deviant in others.
Deviant behavior is behavior that is a recognizable violation of social norms. Formal and informal social controls attempt to prevent or minimize deviance. One such control is through the medicalization of deviance. It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that makes something deviant.
In Saudi Arabia, women exposing skin other than the forehead, eyes, or hands is reflected as deviant to that culture. However, women in America or other parts of the world excluding the Middle East do not consider it deviant when women reveal skin, other than eyes, forehead or hands.
What are the factors that have contributed to this society's perspective of the deviant behavior? Why does this society consider the behavior to be deviant but other societies do not?
Factors that have contributed to this cultures perspective are based on their beliefs. According to Islam culture any clothing worn by any women should have following qualities: * Must not be tight so to reveal the body's shape and figure. * Must not be transparent or see-through, even partially. * Must not expose any part of the body. * Must not resemble the opposite sex's clothing.
Now the reason it is considered deviant, as noted above is not the culture itself, but the action thereafter for those that do not follow through. For the Islam culture, women who do not oblige are seen as impure and therefore "soliciting" sexual encounters. In turn men feel obligated to teach these women lessons. I also believe that these men do not have self-control, and want to make an example of the woman. Women who opposed the Islam dress codes were considered to be of less than a dog, and treated as treated as such if not worse.
When someone who has a powerful status in this society commits a crime, how is his or her deviant behavior handled in comparison to someone who has less power in society?
When a figure with power commits a crime, there are times it is often swept under the rug or a minor penalty is applied. When and if men with higher power are found to be guilty of rape, the man is infrequently disciplined since in the Islam culture men are powerful amid themselves. However, in intense situations, law may use him or her as an example and give him or her an extreme punishment. If someone with less power commits a crime they are usually dealt the worse, as there are no eyes on him or her. They may not receive a fair punishment; sometimes they are not punished sufficiently.
