Although within sociology there are many theoretical perspectives on deviant behavior, two that are especially relevant to these chapters are the social interactionist perspective, sometimes referred to as labeling theory, and the structural functionalist perspective, perhaps most famously formulated by Durkheim (1938).  The first calls attention to changing definitions of deviance within social groups across time as well as differences among cultures in what is considered deviant.  In Howard Becker’s oft-quoted words, “Deviant behavior is behavior that people so label” (Becker, 1963:9). The second calls attention to the fact that regardless of the disdain and/or approbation with which members of a group may view certain behaviors, some level of deviant behavior and some kinds of deviance are tolerated in societies even as they are disparaged, which suggests that deviant behavior serves some purpose for societal stability.  In addition, tolerance of deviant behavior is functional because it facilitates for social change. Brief comments on three of the studies in this book will illustrate these perspectives.

The value of the interactionist perspective is evident in the chapter in which Kabir Bello presents the results of his analysis of interviews with men from various African countries about their experiences as students in a university in the United States.  He shows that one consequence of living in another culture is that it raises to a conscious level what one takes for granted as normal behavior.  The students were made aware that the high level of hospitality in the countries from which they heralded was not universal.  They were struck with the importance of the individual rather than community, which was evident to them in a different conception of time as well as what they saw as children’s lack of respect for adults.  They learned that even though they shared a language with Americans, knowledge of English was not enough to ensure communication.   They were also struck with the degree to which Americans obeyed laws, even when there appeared to be no reason to do so.  The African students who participated in Bello’s research demonstrate that experiencing everyday life in a different culture elucidates what is taken for granted as normal and deviant on one’s own culture, which can cause one to question or confirm the value of one’s beliefs.

Within the subfield of deviant behavior gender roles, including sexual behavior, have received a great deal of attention because of their central importance to the organization of societies. Implicit and explicit rules about differences in the way men and women are expected to participate imbue every societal institution in every society.  Failure to comply with gender norms often brings censure and condemnation. Norms, however, change and no where in the recent past is this more evident than in the way men and women participate in societies. Gender equality has become an important international principle.  One of the Millenium Development Goals of The United Nations, for example, is “to promote gender equality and empower women” (United Nations, 2009).  In the face of international support for gender equality even the most patriarchal societies have difficulty maintaining the status quo when taken-for-granted norms related to gender and sexuality are challenged in an increasingly globalized world.

Aminu Fagge Mohammad’s analysis of the portrayal of women in the Hausa film industry, popularly known as Kannywood, is evidence that popular culture serves both to depict change and to act as a form of social control.  Women’s changing roles within society are evident in the initiative women take in these films, although their sphere of operation remains the traditionally familial.  Social control is evident in the bad ends to which the women who show initiative come.  The films are morality plays intended to uphold the status quo in their assignment of irrationality and evil to nonconforming women’s nature, but they also, if only implicitly, raise questions about the nature of women’s traditional participation in society that may lead to change in gender relations in highly patriarchal societies.

As Kingsley Davis (1937) argued, from a functionalist perspective, prostitution, which is considered deviant in many cultures, may contribute to the stability of a society.  Similarly, transvestites who serve as the bridge between prostitutes and clients in a society in which women are in purdah preserve the boundary between the two genders and uphold the roles assigned to each.  Women prostitutes can avoid direct interaction with male clients and men who engage in homosexual behavior with transvestites can preserve their status as heterosexuals because their partners are not “real” men.  Sani Lawal Malumfashi’s paper is evidence that the identity politics with respect to sexual orientation that developed in the United States in the last half of the 20th century has not permeated all cultures.  Sexual behavior remains separate from identity, as it is in many societies.  In Nicaragua, for example, the cochon is considered deviant because of the specific role he plays in homosexual relations (anal intercourse), while men who engage in homosexual behavior in any other way are not considered homosexual (Lancaster, 1992).  As another example, Kendall (1999) discovered that in Lesotho, where interaction between women and men even within the family is limited, the homoerotic behavior in which many women engaged was considered normal.  Most of those with whom she spoke were mystified by the application of the label lesbian to such behavior.  She did find, however, that those in urban areas who were more likely to have been exposed to Western values were aware of such labels.

Together these three chapters contribute to an understanding of deviant behavior generally and more specifically in Northern Nigeria and neighboring countries.  Kabir Belo’s description of the experiences of African students in the United States is a testament to the significance of the concept of culture shock for pointing to the relativity of behavior that is considered normal and deviant.  Aminu Fagge Mohammad’s analysis of the portrayal of women as well as relationships between women and men in families in Hausa films identifies deviant elements of the feminine role, but also suggests that the idea of gender equality, which is being widely promulgated around the world, may effect change in a highly patriarchal society.  Finally, Sani Lawal Malumfashi’s paper adds to the growing social science literature on sexual behavior and beliefs about sexuality and sexual relationships across cultures.  This research points to a level of diversity among cultures that makes sexual behavior an area that is likely to benefit greatly from cross-cultural comparisons and add to the theoretical base of the sociology of deviant behavior.

References

Becker, Howard S., 1963.   Outsiders.  New York: The Free Press.

Davis, Kingsley, 1937.  “The sociology of prostitution.”  American Sociology Review 2:744-755

Durkheim, Emile, 1938.  The Rules for a Sociological Method.  University of Chicago Press.

Kendall, K. Limakatso, 1999.  “Women in Lesotho and the (Western) construction of homophobia.”  Pp. 157-178 in Evelyn Blackwood and Saskia Wieringa (Eds.), Female desires:  Same-sex relations and transgender practices.  New York: Columbia University Press.

Lancaster, Roger N., 1992.  Life is hard: Machismo, danger, and the intimacy of power in Nicaragua.  Berkeley: University of California Press.

United Nations, 2009.  Millenium Development Goals of The United Nations, Goal 3,  http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml (accessed June 12, 2009).