how do societies define what is deviant?

Answer 1

Majority rules. Sucks to be in the deviant minority.

Answer 2

Here is the Best Answer from my question "How do we decide what is sick and deplorable? What changes our minds?"

Answer by Mad Season:
"I believe that as a society, and speaking narrowly just upon the AMERICAN society, that it goes back to the roots of the country. It is that way with every place on earth, though. In our case...the roots of the society we live in were set by people following a Christian religion. This isn't right or wrong, this is just fact. The Native Americans had their forms of practice and religion practically shoved aside. All of our rules, our social limitations, laws, perceptions of society and proper etiquette; these were all established for the country by those before us.

We're lucky enough to live in a place where we have outside influences flowing in. We're constantly exposed to other cultures and ways of thinking. I think this may be why we are changing as a society on our views (I know, it seems to be so slow!). People challenge pre-concieved notions. We see other ways of viewing the world and can either decide to allow our minds to expand and accept new things, or to remain on the paths of thinking that those before us followed.

On the other hand...majority of humans DO just follow in the steps of those before them. There's a large part of the human mind programmed to "fit in with the rest of the tribe", which is why for some people it's so damned hard to just be different and think differently.

I was just thinking about all of this last night, actually....

...there are still places in the world where they eat their dead, let the vultures pick the bones dry, then allow the mother to hold the bones for her grieving period of a few days before burial.

...not to mention places they eat live bugs.

...but then again...Americans have weird costums, too. ;)

Thanks for a thought-provoking question! "

Answer 3

Hi Ashley. It's determined by what people think in our present day and time. R U in college?