Deviant Law and Legal Definition
Deviant is a subjective term often used to invoke formal and informal punishment, restrictions, or other controls of society. These formal and informal controls constrain most people to conform to social norms. Deviance or norms are created or defined by society through a general consensus. Deviance is often used to label people at the lower end of the social scale because the controlling groups and powerful segments of society determine norms and thus determine what is or is not deviant. Definitions of deviance vary from culture to culture.
