M6D1: Cyber Communities Upon successful completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Explain the concept of social deviance and provide examples of deviant behavior in social context. 4.

Upon successful completion of this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze social phenomena utilizing theoretical frameworks

• Identify ethical problems faced by individuals or communities and identify effective solutions

• Explain the concept of social deviance and provide examples of deviant behavior in social context

• Explain and critically evaluate contemporary literature in the field of criminal justice

• Adler & Adler Part VI (pages 401-408, 421-472)

In earlier modules, you were introduced to the lives, activities and identity formation of deviants. In this module, you will learn about how deviants are organized within society. Recall that some deviants carry their “deviant identity” with them all the time, while others are able to shed that part of themselves in some social settings. Formal and informal organizations allow for social spaces where deviants can “be” deviant. Criminology and sociology professors, Joel Best and David Luckenbill (Adler & Adler pp. 401-408), explain the range of deviant social organizations as a continuum from least organized to most organized; the following is a discussion of the various points along that continuum:

• Loners: These kinds of deviants may be highly social in areas other than their “deviant” behavior, but they hold their deviant behavior apart from others as much as possible and generally commit their deviant acts in secret. Some examples are “closeted” homosexuals or “down-low” gay folks who keep their sex lives completely separated from the rest of their lives. They may be married to someone of the opposite sex or single but have sex with persons of the same gender in secret, sometimes in anonymous ways. Another example of this kind of deviant is someone who commits self-harm secretly and hides his/her injuries from others. These kinds of deviants may find deviant communities by looking at websites about others who commit similar deviant acts or reading and possibly participating in online discussions about their behavior. Their associations with these communities are loose and often secret. They do not depend upon other deviants much for their identity.

• Colleagues: These kinds of deviants meet face-to-face for their deviant behavior and engage in deviance together. However, they are not highly organized. Some examples of deviant colleagues are drug users who get together to partake in drug use together, panhandlers who sit together and “street kids.”

• Peers: Groups who engage in deviance with others who are similar to them are somewhat more organized than colleagues are, as they generally hang out together with the same group and engage in their deviant acts together. There is little organization in these groups, although some may have more leadership-like qualities than others.

• Crews: Crews are groups of individuals who form small organizations around the deviance they are engaged in; think about kids who “tag” or write graffiti, groups who engage in robberies, thefts and “gang rapes.” These groups are sometimes referred to as “gangs,” but they lack the social organization of organized crime. Violence that is committed by “crew”-type “gangs” tends to be disorganized and is often committed as part of a property crime or as a personal vendetta. Another example of a deviant crew is a sports team or fraternity house that engages is sexual assault or property destruction.

• Formal Deviant Organizations: These social organizations are highly organized and hierarchical; the Mexican Mafia that is described in the documentary “Lockdown” is a good example of formally organized deviance. This kind of deviant organization often engages in deviant business ventures, such as money laundering, illegal distribution of drugs and organized violence. Another example of a formal deviant organization is international sex trade rings, through which girls, boys and women are bought, sold and trafficked across international borders. A final example of a formal deviant organization is white-collar criminal organizations through which high-level executives and their inner circles make fraudulent financial profits by manipulating the stock and financial markets.

  • Note: Here are a couple of links related to human trafficking that you might find interesting:
    Sex Trafficking in the United States: Children Across America are Unseen Victims (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sex-trafficking-united-states-children_b_812784.) & Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse (https://www.unicef.org/protection/.)