Thio\'s Deviant Behavior, Tenth Ed.

Thio's Deviant Behavior, Tenth Ed. Chapters Nine through Fifteen Review

Thio begins chapter 9 by exploring the many common types of heterosexual deviance including extramarital sex, pornography, and other internet related sexual deviance. While the last topic is a relatively new occurrence that have stemmed from the rise of computers and the internet, the other two are not. In fact, author Thio also explores the oldest form of sexual deviance, prostitution. Each of these specific topics represent cultural norms, values, and mores and the author does an excellent job of outlining both the cultural and objective threats and concerns surrounding each behavior.

Chapter 10 deals with homosexual deviance. Many societies and individuals consider homosexuality to be deviant in and of itself, but there are specific behaviors outlined by Thio that contribute even further to the deviant image of this population. There are many myths and misunderstandings that shroud the homosexual lifestyle and many people do not understand that sexual orientation is not always a black and white topic. Thio does an excellent job of describing how homosexuality, because of its differences and general unfamiliarity with the core populations of societies throughout history, has not been very well discussed or dealt with, especially in modern times. The author talks about AIDs and HIV in this chapter as well and also helps to explain how homophobia, most often considered a deviant behavior itself, plays a large role in the social definition of how people deal with issues relating to homosexuality.

The next chapter in Thio's book focuses on drug use. Different types of drugs have different usage profiles, and in most cultures, these different types also hold differing deviance values. The social constructs of deviance surrounding drugs is also explored at length. The argument that some drugs are both outlawed and discouraged for both political and cultural reasons is also discussed. Thio uses a comprehensive explanation of the drugs' effects and user profiles to build a foundation in which the reader feels more comfortable assessing for themselves the actual deviant value of specific types of drug use. The author also discusses the War on Drugs and how, after many decades, this war has become a lost cause. The theory behind this political and social move within the U.S. is explored and Thio relates many examples of how the War on Drugs and the laws surround specific types of drug use harm certain parts of the U.S. population but not others. For example, the way that crack users and dealers were punished much more harshly than those that dealt or used powder cocaine, reflecting a specific targeting of a population. Cigarette smoking, as discussed by Thio is a bit of a pseudo-deviant behavior, but it is still technically considered drug use and therefore lumped into the same chapter as other substances.

Chapter 12 talks about drinking and alcoholism. This disease is more widely accepted by U.S. society, but it still holds some level of deviance, especially considering the fact that many alcohol abusers are underage. Thio talks about the probable causes of alcoholism and the effects of this disease on people in both the micro and macro forms. Controlling alcoholism has proven very difficult and Thio gives the reader some hope and understanding within this topic as well in Chapter 12. Alcoholism is often a tough subject to explore since many people have experienced it in one way or another. The author gives an excellent, comprehensive explanation of this disease and shows how it can lead to other diseases and disorders as well as working on concert with other known problems within the brain such as chronic addiction and other mental disorders.

Chapter 13 in Thio's book is entitled "White Collar and Governmental Deviance." This topic is often less discussed when it comes to common forms of deviance because it has been internalized as less deviant or less "bad" by the general population. However, there exists within this white collar realm the same need for ideals, norms, values, and mores, and therefore, there also exists deviance from these precepts. Within the bounds of this type of deviance are corporate and occupational deviance, both of which are defined quite specifically in the U.S.

Chapter 14 deals with economic deviance in a very broad fashion. This type of deviance involves theft, robbery, burglary and organized crime. These types of deviance are everywhere, and have been regarded as deviant for millennia. This chapter also discusses the ties between these types of crime and deviance and ethnicity. This issue is brought up in other chapters, but due to the nature of the deviance discussed in this chapter, Thio presents an excellent argument of structuralist approaches relative to the idea that ethnicity and simple crimes like theft can be explained in concert.