Discuss how far sociologists would agree that most deviant

behaviour is carried out by young men. (12 marks)

Deviance is defined as abnormal behaviour that is looked down upon by the society where the
behaviour occurs. What is deviant in one society may not be deviant in another society it is socially
defined. It is commonly thought that young men carry out most of the deviant behaviour in society, however,
a look at the facts suggests otherwise.
Some sociologists will argue that most deviant behaviour is carried out by young men. This may
because they feel that young men have been socialised in a way that promotes deviant behaviour. This is the
way that parents bring up their child in society and the norms and values that they adhere to. For example,
many dads agree that they want their son to be tough. Another reason may be that young men have more
opportunities to commit deviant behaviour. As young males, they are let out on the streets in the evening
much more than females who are protected by their dads by being kept at home. These two reasons do
suggest that young males would commit most of the deviant behaviour in a society.
On the other hand, there are arguments that suggest otherwise. Some sociologists point out the
chivalry thesis as an explanation for why it seems like young men commit for deviant behaviour. This is
when females are let off the hook due to organisations such as the police being male dominated and letting
innocent young females get away with bad behaviour. Another reason why males might not carry out most
of the deviant behaviour in current society is due to an increase of the ladette culture in England. This is
when young females go out, get heavily drunk and act very boisterously and committing very deviant
behaviour. A recent survey has shown a large increase in the number of deviant behaviours committed by
young drunk ladettes. These two reasons suggest that females do commit a lot more deviant behaviour than
most realise, but they often get away with it.
In conclusion, the evidence clearly shows that sociologists do not agree that most deviant behaviour
is committed by young males. Although young men are socialised in a way that suggests they should act in a
deviant manner, females are acting more and more deviant as time moves on due to an increase in the
ladette culture.