Brothel Analysis Using the Social Deviance Theory Anomie - Book Report/Review Example

Brothel Analysis Using the Social Deviance Theory Anomie In seeking to solve the conflicts that exist in social norms, sociologists have brought forth several theories. Of these theories is Robert Merton’s Anomie theory, a theory that describes the social norms or lack of norms or a state of normlessness in the society. This theory shows the breakdown of social ties between individuals and the community. Hence, Merton sought to describe the existing difference between goals that are socially agreeable and the existence of ways to realize the said goals. For instance, unruly situations can lead to fragmentation of social identity and even rejection of self control values. The theory was populated by a French sociologist by the name Emile Durkheim. According to Emile Durkheim, anomie is a result of a mismatch of personal or group values and wider social values. He also claims that anomie can result from lack of social ethics that can result to moral deregulation and the lack of legitimate aspirations. In most cases in sociology, this theory is always used to illustrate the matching or integration of individual behaviors with the social practices and norms. Therefore, anomie can be said to be a mismatch and not necessarily the absence of norms. Thus, a community with little individual discretion and too much rigidity can result in a kind of anomie. This paper aims at using the theory of anomie to discuss the activities of the sex workers at the Mustang Ranch as portrayed by Alexa Albert in her book, Brothel. When a medical student from Harvard University by the name Alexa Albert carried out a study on public-health, she had predicted the kind of results that the activity would yield. The study was conducted at the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada However, the results proved her predictions wrong. Having had experience in working with prostitutes with no homes in Times Square, Albert could afford to be intimate with the human devastation resulting from prostitution, and eager to see if Nevada’s brothels availed a less harmful model for a business which has been with us for the longest. The Mustang Ranch had never before allowed any outsider to access their premises. In this case, alarm of HIV/AIDS was negatively affecting the business, and the Ranch really needed to get positive publicity for its meticulous standards of sexual hygiene. Albert found herself being pulled into the lives of the women of the Mustang Ranch, and what started as a public-health project developed into something more ambitious and intimate, a six-year evaluation of the brothel ecosystem, its significance and lessons (Albert 121). During the period that Alexa Albert interacted with commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels, she was able to know the hardship’s in life that had pushed these women to this kind of tabooed profession. She was able to realize that a good number of them had gone through many hardships in life before opting for this option. As she interacts with these women, she develops a completely new point of view of exactly what they go through. Despite the fact that people in this profession are always secretive, Alexa Albert is able to acquire some of the women to share with her the experiences that led to them ending up working at the brothels (Albert 143). As much as the society highly encourages individualism in the pursuit of material and economic success, it is clearly evident that not all people are given equal opportunities to do so. Therefore, there occurs an imbalance that forces the less privileged to opt for the most convenient means possible, even if it is a crime. The same situation applies in the case of the sex workers at the Mustang Ranch. Having very few options left for them to choose from, the commercial sex workers opt for this profession because it appears to be the most convenient for their case. According to the report by Albert, most of these commercial sex workers come from the economic incapable families in the society. Anomie can also be as a result of the failure of the society to regulate the behaviors of people in the society. This is clearly evident in the study at the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada, which reveals the failure of the Nevada society t uphold moral standards that are universally acceptable. This failure is what lead to the emergence of a society in which activities such as prostitution are viewed as economic activities as opposed to the general traditional view which categorizes such activities as morally unacceptable. This does not affect only the commercial sex workers but also the whole community at large. This is because of the way hey readily accept the activity to continuously take place in their society. According to the theory of anomie, social deviance is fueled by the willingness of human beings to conform. Conformists have the tendency accepting both culturally accepted means and socially-restricted means of making sure that they achieve their goals. Individuals in the society find themselves having to conform to social expectations without having to question them. As a result, individuals end up in situations that they can do anything so as to achieve the society’s standards of success, without bothering to think about the legitimacy of the means used. This is the exact circumstance with commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels. Most of them have the obsession of attaining a certain economical capability. The obsession hinders their capability to judge their actions before they really act. Another possible sign that anomie is evident among commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels is rebellion. Rebel refers to those individuals who rejects and discounts the existing system that is responsible for determining the legitimacy of means and ends. This way they propose their own definitions of success and means to success. The community of workers in Nevada brothels and clients can be said to have chosen this path of anomie. Despite the fact that commercial sex is commonly known as a social ill, they create their own understanding of the activity which leads to the activities being seen as a legitimate economic activity in the state of Nevada. Rebellion can not only be seen on the commercial sex, but the community at large because even the clients come from the same community. It is also the community’s governing body that approved on this activity commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels and its legality. The activities commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels and the fact that they are legal can be categorized as innovation. Innovators can be described as individuals who are willing to embrace material and monetary success as a worthy course, but turn to deviance to achieve this goal. This is very evident among the commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels. As much as some of them had the ability to use various other means to attain economic and material prosperity. This is even depicted through the brothel owners who would have invested their capital in various other businesses that are morally accepted. Instead, they opted for the brothel business. The state government also ignores the moral implications of such businesses but focuses only on its economic value that making it legal in the state. This makes this state a deviant one especially because it is the only state in the United States of America that has legalized commercial sex working. Retreats can also be said to be another common feature of anomie. Retreatists can be said to be the group of individuals who have given up on trying to cope with the social standards. A common character of such people is they tend to have very little concern of what social norms expects of them. Thus, they always act outside the borders of the moral expectations of the society. The same can be said about the commercial sex workers in Nevada brothels. During Albert’s interaction with them, she noticed that a good number of them had given up on worrying about what the rest of the society things about their moral standards. This even explains how and why most of them are able to comfortably open up to Albert about the nature of their work without feeling embarrassed in any way. It is even depicted with the whole community and how they respond to the legalization of commercial sex working in the state of Nevada. The community at large does not feel bothered by the fact that Nevada State is the only state that has legalized commercial sex working (Albert 72). It is clearly evident that social deviance theory anomie can be used to explain commercial sex working especially in the case of the mustang ranch brothel in Nevada. Most of the commercial sex workers the mustang ranch brothel in Nevada are forced by the inequitability of access to the opportunities to prosper materially and financially. This explains why they have opted for a profession that is considered to be unacceptable in most societies. Just like the Social Deviance Theory Anomie states, the commercial workers are willing to do anything so as to achieve their economic and material goals. This is not only evident in the commercial sex workers, but also through the brothel owners and the Nevada state government for readily accepting commercial sex work to legally take place in this state. Work Cited Albert, Alexa. Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women. New York: Random House, 2001. Print. Read More