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Article: Tolerable Differences: Living with Deviance, 2d ed.
- Article from:
- The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology
- Article date:
- November 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Assn. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The introductory deviance text is likely to resonate with readers on several different levels - intellectually, academically, personally. It certainly prompted me to react, not only as a sociologist searching to better understand the interactional dynamics of social life, but also as an individual interested in understanding her own dynamic.
Stebbins begins his discussion by identifying "tolerable" deviance as practices that constitute significantly less serious violations of moral norms, including those that are sexually and culturally defined and constructed. That which is tolerated and that which is condemned, Stebbins contends, is determined partly by "those who ...