Outsiders: Studies in Sociology of Deviance [Paperback]

Howard Becker wrote a seminal book, focusing on deviance creation, a big criminological industry. He looks at its formation, maintenance and the effects. As a member of an outsider subculture, he has formulated a view from insight not from the outside. This irks academia because they like to gaze though the telescope rather than the subjects themselves writing out their lives. It puts the "academic" out of business. This opus is derived from an outre scene participation of musicians, drawn from the late 50's/60's, the beatniks. Becker waited until the McCarthy witch trials had ran out of steam, before detailing his lifestyle. Ask Rocky Erikson what happens to someone caught with one reefer in Texas in the liberated 60's?

Second hand accounts abound of his Marijuana initiation picture abound. In the straight worlds of Bilton et al 80's college life, we were informed incorrectly Becker showed Dope Smoking effects were wholly socially constructed. No effect existed, apart from what the group defined as being stoned. Having imbibed on the weed prior to being given this piece of priceless information I quickly made up my mind, Becker was another straight speeling nonsense.

This is a complete misconception of Becker. In reading the original version, the chapter on Dope Smoking is the ultimate in harm reduction. He describes the initial effects of the drug, ranging from initially mild drunkeness to incapacitation. The inability to mix the correct amount of air to THC and holding the brew in the lungs creates consumption errors. When large amounts are undertaken the effect of being completely stoned, paralysis, coupled with the feeling of ever-present dread of space, time, distortion replete with nausea is pure horror.

Becker details this entrance into the gates of hell and its transcendence. He portrays the importance of taking wisdom from older smoke imbibers and having an initiation into the overcoming these effects, rather than succumbing to terror.

People may believe only they feel this internal effect, especially when all around appear "cool". I wish I had read this years ago. Becker pin points this initiation, a form of psychological tidal wave rearing over the initiate, needing to be overcome. The test arises in negotiating the effects of the drug, to calm, then tame it, finally it becomes enjoyable.

Sound harm reduction advice, extremely prescient especially for those who are psychologically unstable when imbibing.

The work analysing how deviance is socially constructed is revelatory. This has pure presence. Becker shows how the outsider is created through the appliance of rules by people who define deviance and then search for the miscreants, as much as the behaviour of the outsider. It is form of institutional violence enacted on the powerless outer groups to create an inner sense of group camaraderie; the socially included.

The War on Drugs, a great witch hunt leading to a huge erronous social policy disaster of an astounding magnitude, locking up young black males en masse in the USA and criminalising the young in the UK. All based on the propogation that Cannabis is a gateway drug to hard drugs, when the real research shows familial violence is a far greater emotional super highway to chronic forms of self medication. This is detailed in Douglas Valentine's books on the formation of the "Strength of the Pack" and "Strength of the Wolf". Ainslinger the former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency created the Cannabis panic detailed in Becker's book to ensure his anti narcotic agency still received funding during WW2 and its aftermath, as heroin and cocaine were no longer used recreationally, due to the shipping disruption.

His work on Jazz musicians has strong resonance with punk and its rules around insiders and outsiders. An outre group defined in response to an inner group. The tension between expression and commercialism was a key issue during the 70/80's. Becker defines it succinctly in his chapters detailing the tensions when relationships form and the need to obtain money becomes paramount. This should be a key chapter for all cultural studies readers. It looks at why people "sell out" especially when they have to support a family.

Few sociology books transcend both the academic ivory towers of "self abuse" and say something relevant about the real world. Abstract meanderings of very dull minds is the staple fayre of the social sciences. This however strikes a chord, and chimes in resonance with "reality."

Forget the pretentious posturings of pseudo academics, this transports sociology into the everyday lives where it belongs, before the alienated men and women turned it into the mire regurgitate whatever fashion appears within university.

They are primarily interested their will power turns knowledge into abstract theorising, ordinary mortals will scratch their heads in powerless bewilderment. It is another form of social exclusion, only the initiates can imbibe, ultimately in terms of the march universe, it is meaningless.

Becker eschews the language of pretension to make his texts as easily read as possible, so everyone can relate to them. A key insight into pricking the pomposity of the middle brow academic.

As someone involved in a subculture that revolved around drug use when I eventually tore myself away through an education portal this book was the one that helped me make sense of what I'd been through: both in terms of the experience of being involved in the subculture and of being the 'subject' of the moral and legal sanction of the authorities.

Of course, the out-groups have changed, of course the notion of the label being 'fixed' is flawed. But most of the claimed problems with the book stem from academics more concerned with selling a 'textbook' or bashing a 'theory'. How someone can claim a symbolic interactionist is 'deterministic' defies common sense.

This book still has a lot to offer because the issues may change but people remain the same - social beings likely to engage in some form of activity that draws them together and sets them apart. Forget Hebdige, look beyond the label, and it all makes sense.

Review Essay

Becker, H.S. (1963) `Outsiders'

By:S Davies
Thursday, November 18, 2010

Howard S. Becker is an American sociologist who for many years lived and worked in Chicago. His book, `Outsiders', is one of his most famous pieces of work, which set the foundations for his Labeling Theory. The following review will attempt to critically evaluate the ideas and themes contained within the book, paying particular attention to its validity in modern day society.

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In his first chapter, Becker attempts to define deviance as someone who strays from the rules of a group. Becker explains that in order for deviance to exist, the behaviour has to be first observed and then judged to be deviant. Once the label `deviant' has been applied, that individual is then regarded as someone that "cannot be trusted to live by the rules" and the `offender' is perceived as an `outsider' as a consequence (p.1). It is the precise nature of definition, rather than the "quality of an act", that Becker attempts to explore, and the very nature of the relationship between social structures and individual behaviour and identity in which Becker is interested, which is discussed further on.

In chapter two, Becker looks at models of deviance, but concentrates on two models in particular that can help to explain the etiopathogenesis of deviant behaviour: the simultaneous and sequential models. The former argues that particular behaviours occur as a result of a number of variables arising at the same time; whilst the latter argues that particular behaviours are caused by sequence of occurrences. Using juvenile delinquency as an example, Becker argues that a broken home or the juvenile's environmental influences, will not always instantly lead to juvenile delinquency; rather it would be one of a series of sequential events or circumstances.

To illustrate the sequential model, chapters three and four show how an individual learns techniques and gains experiences from peers within a group, which aids in the formation of individual identity. In the case of marihuana users, this may include joining a social group in which the drug is available, learning their techniques and ways, conforming to the group's ways, and then moving from `normal' to deviant as a result.

Chapters five and six concern themselves with `The Culture of a Deviant Group: The Dance Musician', and are the most bizarre chapters contained within the book. The reasons for this will be discussed shortly. Becker, rather than concentrate on the root causes of and types of bad behaviour, focuses on how the dance musician's career might be affected if that career group were not normal. Members of the musician's demographic go from being `normal' family men to dance musicians, adapting to the needs of that sub-culture as they do so. For example, a musician may feel coerced into playing `commercial' music to meet perceived demand, although this may not be what the musician necessarily wants to produce. Musicians are constantly adapting to the needs of their sub-culture, even if this means compromising the quality of their music. The consequence of this is said to lose the respect of fellow musicians.

In chapter seven, Becker returns to themes visited in the first chapter, but this time in more detail, and delves into how rules are made and enforced, with particular focus on the characteristics of those that create and enforce them. He argues that before any label can be applied, the harmful object has to be observed first; this is because rules are not made by divine nature. For this to occur, the object must first be observed and then shown to the group, where the consensus is that something ought to be done. The `moral entrepreneur' is, collectively, those who observe, judge and publicise the object as harmful. Those who take the initiative, moral enterprise, are those who attempt to create the rule by rallying the support of vested interest groups and/or the media. Deviance therefore, is the `product of enterprise' (p.162). Enforcement works by the same principle of moral enterprise, in that the initiative must be taken to identify rule-breakers and to seek punishment of them. Nevertheless, some rules are not enforced. When this occurs, Becker argues that a conflict of interest exists in the entrepreneur, between what they feel they may gain by either refraining from or enforcing the rule; if non-enforcement is of greater benefit then the rule-breaking will be tolerated and permitted to continue.

The final chapter looks at problems and sympathies within the study of deviance, where Becker describes a lack of substance in the theories that exist, believing them to be faulty or inadequate. He believes that not enough is known about deviant groups such as homosexuals, and gaps exist not just with homosexuals but with other deviant groups. He also describes how access to information and to the groups that are the focus for study is restricted, because those classed as outsiders in turn reciprocate that label to the rest of society; this forms part of an element of protection on the deviant's part. Questions are posed, such as `how do researchers find doctors who are drug-addicts themselves, or even homosexuals of certain kinds? Becker even asks what stand-point the researcher will take, due to the many levels of individual characteristics in any social group; essentially, how will a researcher remove any other factors that may influence his study beyond that which he intends to manipulate.

A recurring theme that the reader picks up on throughout the work is the notion that one's behaviour is deterministic, and this idea is particularly prevalent in chapters two and three. Paul Rock (2007) argues that while each step may shape the experiences and `moral character' of a deviant, they are not unavoidable or irrevocable (p.29). Becker seems to argue that behavioural traits are pre-determined, therefore not acknowledging that individuals can alter their path. In doing so, Becker ignores the principles of Rational Choice Theory, which stipulates that individuals are rational actors that weigh out the cost/benefits of any action that they may take prior to taking it.

The reader may have to read chapters five and six at least twice, possibly three times, in order to fully understand the point Becker makes, because it is difficult to spot what about dance musicians is so deviant. Indeed, this was one of the most bizarre chapters to read. Although their culture may be different to that of an ordinary job, what they do is no different to the goings on of today's music industry. The saying `it's not what you know, it's who you know' carries the same weight today as it did then. Becker describes the processes through which dance musicians find work as being somewhat deviant. That said, the reader cannot help feeling that Becker has contradicted himself in talking about losing the respect of other dance musicians: how can respect be lost if all dance musicians act in the same manner?

The chosen methodology for Becker's participant observation study is not without issue either. First, the reader questions whether Becker is too involved: Becker (a musician himself) played the piano within the subject group. It is here that the reader begins to question the validity of the study; not only did he conduct very few formal interviews, but he relied heavily on field notes and conversations that he was partial to or simply over-heard. Becker's own experiences as a dance musician, performing in taverns and clubs, is an experience shared among fellow players, but the chapter comes across to the reader as personal to Becker as though it were about him, prompting the reader to question whether the data collected is of a biased nature - that is, can the results be relied upon as a valid source of information, and can any conclusion drawn be generalised to other, much larger dance musician groups or other genres of music, within a much wider social setting. Another point any reader should consider is that music is ever changing (from Big Band to Rock and Roll to alternative pop etc) and was evolving massively when Becker carried out his study in 1948'49. For music to evolve, artists had to produce music that they wanted. They were the revolutionaries of their time for trying something new, and those that survived did so because audiences liked these new styles. Most importantly, his work was not published for over a decade, which begs the question, `would his results have validity if applied to modern day music groups'?

Throughout the work, the reader is reminded of the era it was written; America in the 1960s. The use of the term `Negros' to describe Black American minority groups, and placing homosexuality in the same deviant category as behaviours like gambling and drug-taking, is a reminder that while on one hand the theories and ideas may be relevant to our modern society, many of the ideals upon which the book was written appear to be out-dated, and this in itself warrants the need for a modern review of the ideas formulated. This need is especially prevalent in chapters five and six. Unfortunately, Becker's work is no more adequate than the next theory, because his hypothesis is untested and it would be very hard to prove in real life settings. The only real tool that social scientists have is the foundations of a logical argument, and another perspective, on the study of deviance. What Outsiders can offer the reader and society, is the complications that arise from labelling people deviant, especially when one considers ideas such as self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping; the `if the cap fits' mentality. Labelling Theory also has the advantage of being tested, to an extent. Read more ›