Social Construction of Crime & Deviance (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

What are crime & deviance?

Crime

• A crime is defined as:

an illegal act punishable by law that, if detected, can result in criminal proceedings

• Crime involves acts such as:

  • robbery

  • shoplifting

  • identity theft

  • terrorism

  • human trafficking

• Crimes are formally defined and enforced by the state through laws, police, and courts

• Sociologists study not only criminal acts but also how society defines and reacts to them

Deviance

• Deviance refers to behaviour that does not conform to society's norms, values and expectations

• Deviant behaviour may not be illegal, but it is often disapproved of by most people

• Deviance can attract negative sanctions (disapproval, exclusion, or punishment)

• Examples include:

  • parking on double yellow lines

  • sitting next to a stranger on an empty train or bus

  • drinking or smoking while pregnant

  • extreme body modification, e.g. plastic surgery, face tattoos

  • talking in the cinema

  • stealing food due to food poverty

• Deviant behaviour includes both legal and illegal activities

  • Legal deviance is behaviour considered 'abnormal' in some way, but not punishable by law

    • E.g. dressing unusually, being rude in public, or rejecting social etiquette

  • Illegal deviance is behaviour that both breaks social norms and the law

    • E.g. crimes such as theft or assault, which are punished by the state and condemned by society

The social construction of crime and deviance

• Crime and deviance are socially constructed concepts — their definitions depend on time, place, culture, and context

• What one society or culture sees as deviant, another may see as normal

• Similarly, behaviour once seen as deviant can become accepted over time

Examples of how crime & deviance are socially constructed

Time

• What is criminal or deviant changes over time:

  • Homosexuality: illegal until 1967 in the UK, now legally protected

  • Suicide: a crime until 1961, now seen as a mental health issue

  • Smoking: once accepted everywhere, now banned in public places since 2007

  • Extramarital births: once stigmatised, now common and socially accepted

Place

• Behaviour can be acceptable in one setting but deviant in another:

  • Wearing swimwear on a beach is normal, but at work it’s deviant

  • Smoking is legal at home but illegal in many public places

  • Drinking alcohol is legal in the UK but illegal in some Islamic countries

Culture

• Cultural norms vary widely:

  • In Saudi Arabia, drinking alcohol is illegal, but in the UK it’s common

  • Eating guinea pig is normal in parts of South America, but deviant in the UK

  • Alcohol prohibition in the 1920s USA shows that laws can shift with cultural values

Age

• Legal definitions change depending on age:

  • Age of consent: 16

  • Drinking and gambling: 18

  • Criminal responsibility: 10 (England and Wales)

• A child stealing a toy isn’t treated the same as an adult committing theft

Sociological perspectives on crime and deviance

Marxism

• Marxists argue that crime and deviance are socially constructed to serve the interests of the ruling class

• The bourgeoisie control the law, deciding what counts as criminal behaviour and what does not.

• White-collar crimes (like tax avoidance or corporate fraud) are often ignored or treated leniently, while working-class crimes (like benefit fraud or theft) are harshly punished

• Laws mainly protect private property and privilege, reflecting capitalist values; e.g., avoiding tax is often seen as clever or legal, but benefit fraud is criminalised

Functionalism

• Functionalists such as Émile Durkheim argue that crime and deviance are normal and necessary for society

• They are socially constructed through shared norms and values, which define what is acceptable behaviour

• Deviance can have positive functions:

  • It reaffirms social norms when society reacts against deviant acts

  • It can encourage social change by challenging outdated laws or values (e.g. civil rights protests or LGBTQ+ campaigns)

Feminism

• Feminists argue that crime and deviance are socially constructed within a patriarchal system that reflects male dominance in law and social control

• The justice system applies double standards:

  • Women are punished not only for breaking the law but also for violating traditional gender roles

• Men’s crimes, especially violence against women, have often been ignored or excused, while female offenders are labelled 'unfeminine' or 'immoral'

• Feminists argue that definitions of deviance reinforce gender inequality, normalising male power and restricting female autonomy

Interactionism

• Interactionists, including Howard Becker, argue that no behaviour is inherently deviant — it only becomes deviant when society labels it as such

• Crime and deviance are therefore created through social interactions, not fixed moral rules

• Who gets labelled as 'deviant' depends on social factors such as

  • class

  • gender

  • ethnicity

  • power

• The label itself can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where individuals internalise the deviant identity and continue acting accordingly

• Interactionists emphasise how police targeting and media portrayal define some groups as criminal while ignoring similar acts in others