Has Social Deviance Become Mainstream?

Societal norms are constantly changing as the world becomes more globalized and inter-connected. Even in such traditional societies as Qatar, pop culture has infiltrated youth expression though in a very “conservative” way. For example, at a high-level fashion event I attended recently, Abaya-clad young girls were wearing the multi-finger rings which were in earlier days worn by thuggish men and referred to as “knuckle-dusters” and are currently incorporated in current fashion and design and are a staple in hip-hop and rock videos.
Another trend that crosses global borders is tattoos. This “artform” was usually connected to images of brash, hard-drinking sailors, skin-head racists and men looking for fights in bars. It was considered anti-social and deviant behavior and fuelled many misconceptions about the wearers. Such societal pressure can sometimes have the effect of causing people to conform to the very same misconceptions leveled at them and often in extreme ways.
Women wearing tattoos were thought of as “bad girls” looking for trouble. Nowadays, everyone and his mother has a tattoo or 3 or 5, and more. The reality shows Miami Ink and LA Ink showed just how integrated into society tattoos have become – from perky girls and boys next door, to models, stay-at-home mums and corporate high-flyers – having a tattoo is clearly a must-have. Here in Qatar, tattooing is against the law. Many people disguise having one by using the traditional artform of henna-ing.
Just like tattoos, dreadlocks and “pants on the ground” were formerly regarded as socially-deviant and are now so much part of our daily life. In general, any behavior seen as different causes adverse reaction and comment from the “normal” members of society. However, It appears that increasingly, pop culture is looking less rebellious and more mainstream.

Scourge of the society

Since the time man could speak, he laid down certain mores that regulated himself and those around him. The excuses for these rules range all the way from social security to social homogeneity. But as the age old saying goes, rules are made to be broken. Since the dawn of time, every society has had its fair share of those few that seemed to make it their lives’ goal to do nothing but go against those rules of conformity. They have been labeled as deviants and punks (not the musical genre) and some of the most extreme deviants have been called the unwanted scourge of a perfectly uniform society.

To my better knowledge, I believe that no society should stringently adhere to these norms. The norms arise mostly because of some external factors that threaten the solidarity of the people. Since the society is very organic and dynamic, it evolves to adapt to any situation. Yet, in the process, there remains unchanged, the social norms that once held the people together. Under the stress and change of the evolving society, these norms get bent and broken, now endangering what they meant to protect in the first place. I believe that most people (if not all) are smart enough to know what is right and what is wrong.

To prove this point, I interviewed a close friend of mine who’s social background prohibits the permanent marking of the skin. In the interview I asked him what that meant and his reply was that the culture and the social background he is from scorns those who tattoo themselves and consider it as a vulgar display of oneself. Not surprisingly, this friend of mine was not one to stand aside and let others decide what is considered wrong or right. He got himself a tattoo and is proud of it. He says that for the first few weeks, being a secret deviant felt euphoric. But as time went on, he got used to the tattoo and so did those around him.

This just shows how certain social norms are created just so that they can be enforced upon the people. One influential man’s hatred towards something can easily become a social norm just because he is the head of a society. That is social control at its finest.