Responses to labeling attempts: Deviant drinkers’ pathways of label manipulation

Abstract

Recognizing the traditional labeling approach's view of the label recipient as a passive participant in the labeling process, this paper argues that the symbolic interactional roots of this approach indicate this to be an inappropriate formulation. Rather, it is suggested that label recipients are active participants in the process and their major goal is the reduction of stigma and limited conforming opportunities inherent in label application. For the deviant drinker, there are two available pathways of label negotiation. With initial labeling attempts, it is hypothesized that label recipients should attempt to negotiate reality through deviance avowal, whereas with increasing numbers of prior labeling attempts, deviance avowal becomes the only viable means of reality negotiation. Because of the medicalization of deviant drinking, deviance avowal becomes a means of reducing label‐based social costs through occupation of the repentant‐deviant role. Given the need to invoke certain aspects of the medicall...