Norms and deviance shape everyday culture. A norm is something usual, typical, or standard. Deviance is any behavior, practice, or condition that results in disapproval, hostility, or sanction. It describes actions that violate social norms and are frowned upon (Chambliss, William J., 129). Every society has its own values, and a sense of what is right and wrong. .
Regardless of modern developments, theories of deviance still contain a very large gender bias. Male supremacy has been prevalent in many societies throughout history. The Bedouins, a typically Muslim nomadic group of the Arab deserts, are a patriarchal society. In their culture, men are highly respected; for example, when a male guest shows up at a family's home, every female in the household must drop whatever they were doing to rush to greet the guest. If a group of males were having a conversation, the surrounding women would not be able to speak. Bedouin women are faced with a social standard in which they can either choose to obey and be accepted, or disobey be ostracized. This is just one of many examples of deviance.
Many societies across the globe praise males for having sexual relationships with numerous partners while condemning women for doing the same. This idea is especially prominent in polygamous societies, where men are encouraged to have multiple wives. Contrastingly, women are expected to stay loyal to their husbands. If a Bedouin woman was to commit adultery, she would be punished severely, and possibly even killed. In Western culture, women who have several relations with men are considered promiscuous and are stigmatized from the general public.
Compared to Bedouin culture, Western societies are far more lenient with the way women are expected to behave. Although both men and women have the same civil rights, the gender roles of society create a distinct line between the ways the two genders should act. While in many societies, it is the norm for males to act as "studs" by having several sexual relations, it would be deviant for females to act in the same ways.
