I find mass media to be one of the most significant influences on the perception and performance of informal deviance in modern society. This is largely due to the constantly evolving nature of media as well as what is considered to be formally deviant. Social norms are much more susceptible to change than enacted legalities and laws, which are often only subject to change in the case that a severe cultural shift occurs. The exploration and shifts in the perception of deviance occur in a cyclical manner through both shifts in social norms and presence in media. This is especially clear in modern iterations in which many social norms are rejected or enacted at a rapid pace. The many violations of norms in the previous century that would often result in the labeling, stigmatization, imprisonment, or exclusion of individuals are often ignored now (Cifaldi & Malizia, 2020). This is often seen in how much more receptive the general population are to gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and other diversity. However, due to the extreme pace at which social norms are adopted and rejected by the media and culture, there is also a great difference in what is acceptable and non-acceptable informal deviance around the world.
I find that a change in gender would cause a large change in perceiving deviance, both throughout society and media. This is largely due to the continued double standards that remain, especially throughout the internet. While many gender stereotypes have been broken, the media still allows for the division of behavior based on gender. As such, certain deviance can be seen as acceptable purely based on the gender of the individual. This outlines the fact that biases still inform what can appear to be unprejudiced and objective sources of media.
Reference
Cifaldi, G., & Malizia, N. (2020). Globalization in the context of subjective identity, deviance, and social control. Contemporary Social Science, 17(1), 51-62. Web.