Instructional Objectives for this activity:

• Distinguish between mainstream and deviant cultural behaviors and their impact on microstructures and macrostructures of society.

• Apply the basic ideas and focus of the following three major theoretical perspectives: the structural-functional paradigm, the conflict paradigm, and the symbolic interaction paradigm.

Deviance is simply any act that falls beyond our social norms. There are acts of deviance that many of us commit (like jaywalking) and acts that we likely never consider (like murder). In this lesson, we will explore tattoos and body modifications and the changing attitudes surrounding them by writing a short paper.

Please respond to all of the following prompts:

• Define deviance. In what ways can deviant behavior bring about social change?

• Explore if tattoos and body modifications are still considered deviant or if these are now socially acceptable.

• Research tattoo acceptance in the workplace. Should individuals with visible tattoos be able to work in professional settings? Why or why not?

• Apply symbolic interactionism to how tattoos are viewed. (If needed, review Week 1. We covered this in our Week 1 discussion and Chapter 1 readings.)

Using your textbook and additional resources, write a 1-2 page paper addressing the issues described above.

Be certain to use interactionism in your analysis. Explain how symbolic interactionism relates to deviance.

You will find some additional resources to help with the assignment in the Webliography section of this course. There is a guide to APA style, a link to help you in writing a research paper, links for researching your topic, and additional help on the theoretical perspectives. You may want to use these resources, but do not restrict yourself to only these resources.

Please note your grade will be based on the content of your work as well as on the spelling, grammar, and presentation. The paper should be double-spaced and in a regular font and size. The recommended fonts and sizes are Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier, size 12.

Reference- Henslin, J. M. (2015). Essentials of sociology (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.