Deviance and Race

Michelle Newton-Francis & Steve Hamilton

In general, social scientists approach the concepts of deviance and race as socially constructed categories that are superficially imposed to categorize, differentiate, and construct certain social groups as “others.” Deviance describes actions or beliefs that violate social norms, which often result in punishment or stigmatization in a variety of social contexts. Race is also understood, in the social sciences, to be a socially constructed category based on physical or biological characteristics that members of society come to define as significant. Deviance and race are inextricably linked in that racial groups are often associated with certain forms of deviance and are singled out for differential treatments compared with their White counterparts. The first part of this entry describes two approaches to studying deviance and race. The second part discusses how race is produced and sustained in criminal and social deviance. Although the study of deviance in sociology is wide-ranging and divergent, ...

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