Labelling Approaches

“LABELLING” is a diffuse social process that can entail any of the following, sometimes at the same time: The placement of a person within a category, like male or female; The attribution of a negative status to a category, like “dope fiend” or “child molester”; The identification of somebody as belonging to a deviant group; The differential application of a label, and its consequences for persons of different statuses (like “waiter” vs. “waitress”; “master” vs. “mistress”);

“Labelling” is… (cont.): The use of the word "deviant," or one of its synonyms; The discriminating use of different labels to describe the same person, as in "attorney" versus "ambulance chaser"; The pejorative use of label regardless of the definitive content of such a label, i.e., the use of a label for rhetorical purposes, like "racist" or "Communist."

Labelling theory comprises five propositions. Actions are "bad" ONLY insofar as they are defined as such.

Labelling theory comprises five propositions. It's not as useful to examine the nature of deviant acts as it is to examine the processes whereby acts are called “deviant.”

Labelling theory comprises five propositions. Official and unofficial responses to deviance are not predictable from the act itself, but vary according to power relationships. The greater the difference in power, the more likely the most effective form of labelling -- in which labels “stick” -- will occur.

Labelling theory comprises five propositions. As a result of being labelled a deviant, a person is processed and handled as such. The first deviant act is known as primary deviance, which may or may not recur and may or may not become known. If the label is applied, however, this is followed by "secondary deviance," deviance committed after the label is imposed and which supports the label.

Labelling theory comprises five propositions. The imposition and/or reinforcement of the label leads to "deviant careers," with the deviant’s identification with the label and sometimes removal from the society of normals, as in prisons or mental hospitals.

Critiques of Labelling Theory The critique of the Reactivist Definition of Deviance applies to Labelling Theory. Labelling theory is better applied to forms of deviance that provide institutional enforcement (like crime, certain mental illnesses, and learning disabilities) and not more casual forms of deviance. The notion of “label” and “labelling” are vague and over-used.