Labeling Theory In Sociology

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In our society labeling others is a common practice. One may be labeled a good worker, a class clown, or overly studious. But labeling also coincides with deviancy. It not only changes society’s perception of a person, it also impresses a deviant identity on one who has been labeled as such (Schur, E. M. 1971). Labeling theory in sociology is the view of deviance according to how people being labeled as deviant thus engage in deviant behavior, conforming to their perceived status and acting out their expected role. Because of this, those once labeled “deviant” rarely, or never at all, have a chance at change, redemption, or access to a normal life.
Labeling may also result in either retrospective labeling (interpreting one’s past based on …show more content…
This concept applies to my life in two separate ways: once I was labeled as mentally ill, and my mother was labeled as an alcoholic. Although we were both able to receive treatment, the idea that deviancy at on time projects onto future actions rings true. I was told that there is always the risk of relapse, and for my family to keep an eye out for me despite having recovered for quite some time. More radically, once my mother was given that label of deviancy, people think that she has a chance of drinking again, and immediately interpret possible strange behavior as her having returned to the bottle, despite her 7 years of sobriety.
These labels never really leave once they have been given. For mental patients it may mean that they are forever seen as mentally ill by their family or those close to them, regardless of recovery; for criminals it could be that they are never able to get a proper job due to their time in jail or prison. Society as a whole wants to believe that we give everyone equal chances, the benefit of the doubt, or a second chance, but labeling theory contradicts these ideas, showing that once someone is labeled deviant, it sticks with them, molding their past, present, and future into that of their deviant
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