In sociology deviance is defined as being any sort of rule breaking behavior. These certain behaviors or physical appearances tend to depart from the social expectations and will challenge conformity. These differences generate fear and the mainstream culture will either reject the fear of the unknown and the different or absorb and take it in. This is all under social control. It takes a social audience to define what behaviors and appearances are considered deviant and what are not. Differences in culture also play a role in differentiating between what is considered deviant behavior and what is not.
An act is only deviant when a social audience acknowledges and notices it as one. They will also label it as such and denote a certain sanction to the deviant behavior.
To take graffiti as an example, many people would fight on whether graffiti is a form of art and self-expression or social deviance. In the beginning graffiti was a form of expression that was not supported by mainstream culture; that defacing public property was not an acceptable art form and anyone caught doing so was punished and depicted as a violator of the norm.
Smoking was once in time considered cool and trendy and that celebrities in movies, songs and music videos tend to endorse and glorify. In the last 5 to 10 years the act of smoking has become a habit that is taboo. If you are a person that smokes now you will most probably be bombarded with anti-smoking publicity that has come out of the research that has been done on how smoking ruins your health. If you tend to deviate from what is the norm, the social audience will try its best to guide you back, whether it be by subtle forms of guidance such as the propaganda of how smoking will affect your health or by more drastic measures such as having people forced into complying to the rules by making the purchase of cigarettes expensive and less convenient. There are other ways where the society can enforce its beliefs on smoking by having it against the city by-law to smoke in public. Here there is a formal sanction attached to the act of smoking. This by-law was put into place so that people could conform and follow the social norm of being a non-smoker. To disagree with these rules would be considered as an act of committing a socially deviant act and in return will receive punishment.
All humans have a right to make decisions and live their lives the way they want to but that could be a breach to societies norms of what is acceptable behavior or not. To disagree with the new laws being implemented is considered as deviant. We have all in one way or another have shown deviant behavior in some point in time. Deviance doesn’t always mean committing a crime, but venturing out and doing something different will always either receive positive or negative sanctions and will be labeled as such depending on the social audience. As society’s norms change, any behavior is subject to be considered as deviant.
An act is only deviant when a social audience acknowledges and notices it as one. They will also label it as such and denote a certain sanction to the deviant behavior.
To take graffiti as an example, many people would fight on whether graffiti is a form of art and self-expression or social deviance. In the beginning graffiti was a form of expression that was not supported by mainstream culture; that defacing public property was not an acceptable art form and anyone caught doing so was punished and depicted as a violator of the norm.
Smoking was once in time considered cool and trendy and that celebrities in movies, songs and music videos tend to endorse and glorify. In the last 5 to 10 years the act of smoking has become a habit that is taboo. If you are a person that smokes now you will most probably be bombarded with anti-smoking publicity that has come out of the research that has been done on how smoking ruins your health. If you tend to deviate from what is the norm, the social audience will try its best to guide you back, whether it be by subtle forms of guidance such as the propaganda of how smoking will affect your health or by more drastic measures such as having people forced into complying to the rules by making the purchase of cigarettes expensive and less convenient. There are other ways where the society can enforce its beliefs on smoking by having it against the city by-law to smoke in public. Here there is a formal sanction attached to the act of smoking. This by-law was put into place so that people could conform and follow the social norm of being a non-smoker. To disagree with these rules would be considered as an act of committing a socially deviant act and in return will receive punishment. 
All humans have a right to make decisions and live their lives the way they want to but that could be a breach to societies norms of what is acceptable behavior or not. To disagree with the new laws being implemented is considered as deviant. We have all in one way or another have shown deviant behavior in some point in time. Deviance doesn’t always mean committing a crime, but venturing out and doing something different will always either receive positive or negative sanctions and will be labeled as such depending on the social audience. As society’s norms change, any behavior is subject to be considered as deviant.
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