This assignment builds upon the Newman chapter. Have you ever known someone who had a “bad reputation?” Why did they have a “bad reputation?” In your view, how did this reputation affect the way that people perceived and interacted with that person? Explain how “bad reputations” relate to deviance, using the readings to sociologically “frame” your answer where appropriate.

Your response should be about 500 words.

Ouzmi1

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Rania Ouzmi

Sociology 101

February 13, 2020

How “bad reputations” relate to deviance

I descend from a Christian family, and the community respects our family because all our family members are officials in the church. Reputation and impression are significant values; in a society like ours, word of mouth and rumors travel fast. This type of setting makes young people feel like they are being trailed and thus defy the rules. If someone breaks the rules in society, they are considered deviant and people tend to isolate themselves from the “criminal.” Constant deviance makes someone have a bad reputation among his peers and members of society.

If you question elderly members of my society about people, they know with a bad image the list will be long such that you will wish you never asked the question. I know a person with a bad reputation. A friend of mine decided she wanted a different life away from people’s judgments. She, therefore, decided to change her fashion sense and even went on to become a video vixen. In the community’s perspective, she was defiant by doing what she was doing. It was against their moral judgment as the daughter of a local preacher. According to the eyes of society, she was meant to cover up and not wear revealing clothes, or even short dresses and skirts that were at the knee level. Also, being a vixen was a way of earning extra money; the society did not understand that. According to them, she was going against the laws of God and the rules of the church. According to them, she was an immoral person; thus, her reputation was tainted.

Furthermore, the bad reputation that my friend had influenced how people perceived and related to her. They all looked down on her because of not respecting her religion and social values. People spoke ill of her and even warned their children against forging friendships with her. The society kept talking evil of her, yet her dressing and choice of career were not wrong according to my perception. She was just a young girl trying to get into a job she liked and fashion evolution was part of the process. Instead of looking down on her, the elders would have tried to see things from her perspective and even guide her on ways to invest her money since she was young.

However, spreading gossip and making her have a bad reputation, only fuelled her to continue being defiant and even engage in worse behaviors. When she returned from school for the holidays since she was in university, people sidelined her to her face and even her friends sidelined her. Every person was acting weird around her. When she noticed the attitude towards her, she isolated herself even more.

Generally, I acknowledge that bad reputations are related to defiance since it is a communally criticized conduct. Violating social norms that prevail in a community is seen as defiance. While a challenging person may disrupt the social order of a society, defiant acts can aid in identifying the deeds that differentiate good from the bad. Defiance all depends on the perception of a community towards a person’s actions. In this scenario, if the girl was from another religious belief or society, it was normal for her to dress in the manner she did and seek whichever career path she wanted.