Howard S. Becker is an American sociologist born in 1928. He is most famous for his work on crime and deviance, specifically advocating for labeling theory which argues deviance is defined by others rather than being an inherent quality. Becker's 1963 book The Outsiders clearly presented labeling theory and illustrated it using examples of musicians and marijuana smokers.

1. Howard S. Becker (b.1928)
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2. Who is Howard S. Becker?
Howard S. Becker is an American sociologist who
was born in 1928. He was a professional pianist
and considered music to be his career and
sociology to be his hobby.
He is most famous for his work on crime and
deviance in society and was the first theorist to
advocate the labelling theory.
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3. The Outsiders (1963)
Outsiders is the clearest
statement of the “labelling”
approach to the study of
deviance, the idea that
deviance is not a quality of a
bad person but the result of
someone defining someone’s
activity as bad. The idea is
illustrated in two chapters on
musicians and two on
marihuana smoking.
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4. Labelling Theory
Labelling theorists tend to be
uninterested in what 'causes' a
person to act in a way defined
as deviant. They are more
interested in what happens
when a person is perceived as a
deviant - the focus is on the
interaction between the
deviant and those who define
him/her as deviant.
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5. Look at the next few slides.
Decide whether these people
are deviants and why?
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6. Are these people deviants?
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7. Are these people deviants?
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8. Are these people deviants?
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9. Are these people deviants?
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10. Are these people deviants?
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11. At the start of ‘The Outsiders’
Becker quotes William Faulkner…
“Sometimes I ain’t so sho who’s got ere a
right to say when a man is crazy and when
he ain’t. Sometimes I think it ain’t none of
us pure crazy and ain’t none of us pure sane
until the balance of us talks him that-a-way.
It’s like it ain’t so much what a fellow does,
but it’s the way the majority of folks is
looking at him when he does it.”
What do you understand by this statement?
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12. How are Labels applied?
1. Labelling involves the application of crude stereotypes by
authorities such as the police or teachers. These stereotypes
then influence their actions. For example, the police are more
likely to stop and interrogate, or arrest and charge working
class and ethnic minority youths.
2. Labelling theorists question the nature of deviance by asking
if there really is a difference between deviants and us the
supposedly normal. Normality is questioned, and if we cannot
describe normality, then how can we define deviance? It is
suggested that all people contain elements of both. If this is so,
then why do only some of us get labelled?
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