Deviance Behaviour - Transgender

Defined in sociology as behavior or activities, such as crime, that violate social rules and norms, deviation is a subject that sociologists have researched in depth for many years. Deviance is the propensity to depart from social norms, which are the typical behaviors that members of society are expected to exhibit (Smith, 2017). Cultural norms differ from one another. In this sense, behavior might be viewed as abnormal in one culture while being accepted in another. Being transgender is an example of a behavior that many societies view as abnormal. Only in recent times has the idea of transgenderism been accepted in America and Canada; however, the behavior remains deviant in many other societies. The American psychological association defines a transgender individual as a person whose gender identity, expression and behavior are not in line with the sex they were assigned at birth (Smith, 2017). Gender identity is a term used to refer to an individual’s sense of being male, female or something else. Gender expression is the way in which a person renders his/her gender identity through body characteristics, hairstyles, clothing, and behavior. Many societies find transgender people as deviant since an individual is either male or female; any other gender is against social norms. The following paper will focus on transgenderism as a deviant behavior.

There are various categories of people who are considered as transgender; the first group is transsexuals who are people of one sex but feel that they are members of the opposite sex (Beemyn, 2011). The second group is intersexuals also known as hermaphrodites; these people are simultaneously female and male because they are born with both sexual organs. Transvestites are the other category of transgender people; they are also known as cross-dressers since they wear clothes associated with the opposite sex (Beemyn, 2011). Transgender people face a more extensive range of legal issues than lesbians, gays, and bisexuals; these problems arise from the fact that the identity documents of transgender people are not reflective of their gender. As such, they face difficulties meeting basic needs such as housing, healthcare, and employment since their gender identity is not respected (Bauer, 2009).

Apart from harassment from legal institutions, transgender individuals also face verbal and physical harassment since they are often perceived as trying to pass off as ‘real’ men and ‘real’ women. For this reason, they turn to hormone treatment, mastectomy, voice therapy, plastic surgery and other body altering remedies in an attempt to conceal their true identity (Lindqvist, 2017). Transgender people may go through emotional torment as they try to fit in society; they have a fear of not being accepted or finding someone to love them. Often this leads to depression that manifests in various ways such as drug use (Bauer, 2009).

We can use Heckert & Heckert’s typology to determine if the transgender behavior is deviant. According to Heckert & Heckert, there are four types of deviance; these include positive deviance, negative deviance, rate busting, and deviance admiration (Heckert, 2004). The typology makes use of norms and evaluations to determine the category of deviance into which behavior fits. Heckert & Heckert’s typology uses 10 of the most dominant middle-class norms in the United States to establish if the behavior is deviant (Heckert, 2004). The norms used include conventionality, loyalty, prudence, privacy, responsibility, moderation, participation, courtesy, peacefulness, and honesty. The degree to which behavior diverges from these norms determines the category of deviance to which the practice belongs.

Transgender behavior fits into the negative deviance category; negative deviance refers to practices that involve over-conformity or non-conformity and negative evaluation (Heckert, 2004). The behavior is negatively evaluated in all of the ten social norms used by Heckert & Heckert. In regards to the rule of conventionality, transgender is regarded as bizarre and beyond normal; in regards to group loyalty, transgenders are deemed as apostasy since they tend to abandon their social groups. Further, transgender individuals tend to alienate themselves rather than participate in social groups. Also, they prioritize hedonism rather than moderation; they believe that their happiness comes first before anything else. In addition, transgender tends to be deceitful since they conceal their identity and finally, the behavior tends to disrupt healthy social order. Transgender behavior is considered as a non-conformity to social rules; also, the behavior is negatively evaluated in these categories hence revealing the fact that transgenderism is a negative deviance behavior (Heckert, 2004).

Several theories have been proposed in an attempt to determine why people engage in deviant behaviors. Some of the most influential theories include the psychoanalytic theories and the socialization theory; these two theories can be used to examine why transgender people engage in the deviant behavior. The socialization theory asserts that unlike animals whose behaviors are biologically set, humans need social experiences to help them survive in different cultures (Carter, 2014). Socialization, therefore, leads to the manifestation of customs, actions, and behavior that characterize the whole social group. However, the most important expression of culture is found at the individual level. An individual is only able to express his identity after he has been socialized by his parents, extended family, and other social networks. According to the socialization theory, the sense of self is not there at birth; instead, a person develops a self-image following years of social experience (Carter, 2014).

The socialization theory can be used to explain why transgender people engage in the deviant behavior. Socialization provides a straightforward account of how individuals acquire gender identities. Infants are considered as a blank slate that is waiting to be written down on by the environment; as such, infants will learn what roles they are expected to play by interacting with people close to them (Carter, 2014). The infants learn through what is known as reinforcement where gender-appropriate behavior is rewarded and deviant behavior is punished (Elliot, 2016). By the age of three, children have a firm sense of their gender identity which remains throughout life though forces outside the house can alter it. An analysis of most books and TV channels of the 21st century show that men are superior hence annihilating females in the society. Society, therefore, perceives men as superior and women as weak. As a result, some women will crave the feeling of being a man, and consequentially they may become transgender (Elliot, 2016). The girl might start wearing men clothes or even opt for a sex change. Women in society can also be portrayed as intriguing figures, and as a result, some men will want to be female; as a result, they start wearing girl clothes, and hence they are perceived as crossdressers.

The psychoanalytic theory can also explain why transgender people engage in the deviant behavior. Psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud were founded on the idea that gender identity depends on the reproductive genitals of individuals; contemporary psychoanalytic theorists have rejected this idea claiming that there is a complicated relationship between body and mind (Fraser, 2009). For instance, sexuality and gender identity attach themselves to individuals as a result of emotions such as love and social constructions. Contemporary psychoanalytic theorists have therefore concluded that gender identity is based on an unconscious fantasy rather than on biological anatomy (Fraser, 2009). A person can, thus, have a male or female anatomy but fantasizes about being a member of the opposite sex. Also, some people struggle with the question “am I male or am I female and what does it mean”; such people may end up failing to identify with any gender psychologically (Fraser, 2009).

Transgender can best be explained through societal reaction rather than individual and group behavior. Individuals or groups practicing the behavior are comfortable with it since it seems reasonable to them (Smith, 2017). However, different societies react differently to the behavior. Most societies disregard the behavior, and therefore the people practicing it are discriminated and harassed. Such societies believe that only two gender identities exist; other communities, for example, the Hindu, acknowledge the existence of a third gender (Kanamori, 2017). Nonetheless, transgender people are misunderstood, and hence they are scrutinized in almost all cultures. Such scrutiny is referred to as societal oppression and leads most transgender people into depression (Stroumsa, 2014).

The reason why the transgender behavior is best explained by focusing on societal reaction is because of a significant amount of data available in regards to how society views and treats transgenders. For instance, very few examples exist of transgender people in the media; the most common type of transgender people showcased on media is cross-dressers (Caldwell, 2016). Actual transgender people are not popular in the media hence showing that society does not accept them. Further, the leading religious institutions, Christianity and Muslim, reject transgender behavior (Kanamori, 2017); according to them, God created male and female and hence changing identity is not right with God.

According to research in America, 90% of transgender messages at school, on the internet and from their peers are negative, and as a result, most transgender individuals are not honest about themselves in the real world (Bradford, 2013). Also, more than 60% of transgender youth mentioned that they felt unsafe at school; more to this, 25% reported that they had experienced physical harassment due to their identity (Bradford, 2013). Further, over 50% complained that they were verbally harassed; the most common method of verbal harassment was having rumors about them spread through text messages or on the internet. Research in America has also revealed that transgender youth face more challenges compared to adults since they are dependent on their parents for basic needs. In case their deviance behavior is discovered, the individual might end up being kicked out of the house (Norton, 2013); consequentially, most transgender youths end up addicted to drugs, in jail or dead.

Transgender people in different communities have developed various ways to deal with their deviant behavior amidst scrutiny by the society. Most individuals prefer alienating themselves due to the fear of being discriminated. More than 70% of transgenders confess that they prefer to stay away from social groups since they are afraid of being discovered (Bradford, 2013). Also, transgender youth alienate themselves from family because family members are not willing to accept their gender identity. Individuals who openly practice transgenderism deal with their behavior either by turning to drugs or practicing prostitution (Hein, 2013). Those who turn to drugs do so due to depression which develops as a result of discrimination. Those who turn to prostitution do so since no one in society will accept them; in other words, transgenders will turn to prostitution in search of companionship, intimacy and the feeling of being wanted (Hein, 2013).

In America, most transgender individuals deal with the deviant behavior by attempting to conceal their true identity. They do so by altering their physical appearance through the use of various therapies such as hormonal therapy and surgery (Beemyn, 2011). New surgical procedures such as genital reconstruction and gender realignment surgery have gained widespread usage by transgenders who wish to conceal their identity. Transgender people have their sexual characteristics including breast size, buttock size and genital anatomy altered to follow their identified gender (Lindqvist, 2017). Patients of sex reassignment surgeries often report better quality of lives following the procedure. Studies have confirmed that these people will function normally in terms of their social and psychological growth. Also, they report lower anxiety and reduced discrimination levels since the procedure helps them conceal their identity (Lindqvist, 2017). Apart from surgery, transgenders also use hormonal therapy and voice therapy which facilitate the process of gender realignment.

In recent times, transgenders have decided to deal with the deviant behavior by calling on the government to enact laws that will protect them; in this way, transgender individuals will not have to conceal their identity (Stroumsa, 2014). The endeavors of the transgender community in America paid off in 2009 when Barrack Obama signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act which allowed the protection of marginalized people under the American constitution. The act covered members of the LGBT community and hence became the first law in America to recognize the existence of transgender people and call for the protection of their civil rights (Stroumsa, 2014).

In conclusion, different societies have different views regarding the behavior of transgender individuals. It is regarded as deviance behavior since it deviates from the expectations of the society. Heckert & Heckert’s typology classifies the behaviour as negative deviance since it disrupts the normal functioning of society. As a result, transgender people are often discriminated against, and this leads them to adopt different strategies in an attempt to deal with their behavior.



References

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