Folk Devils Research Articles

TURNITIN? TURNITOFF: The Deskilling of Information Literacy

Plagiarism is a folk devil into which is poured many of the challenges, problems and difficulties confronting higher education. This article investigates how software -Turnitin in particular- is ‘solving’ a particular ‘crisis’ in universities. However, I investigate how alternative strategies for the development of information literacy offer concrete, productive and imaginative trajectories for university staff and students.

From Folk Devils to Folk Heroes: Rethinking the Theory of Moral Panics

Comparatively little work on folk devils and moral panics has focused on mirror image phenomena of collective joy, celebration, and hope. By introducing a theory of “moral euphoria” and the concept of “folk heroes,” and focusing on processes of “deification,” this article provides a fresh perspective within the moral panic literature, showing how certain actors may go from “folk hero” fame to “folk devil” infamy. Using the examples of Tony Blair and Barack Obama, the article shows how politicians are particularly significant sociological actors in this regard. The conclusion suggests wider implications for the role of academics in demonization and deification processes.

'Muscle Profiling': Anti-Doping Policy and Deviant Leisure

Doping in sport has become progressively viewed as a social problem and a number of actors have been successively identified as the carriers of this social harm (Ellis, 1987; in DeKeseredy & Dragiewicz, 2012). As a result the list of folk devils (Cohen, 1985) has grown and so too have the control mechanism employed to combat them. Performance and image enhancing drug (PIED) is deemed as morally reprehensible by the general population, and therefore a practice that should be banned and criminalized (Coomber, 2013; Coakley, 2014). However, there seems to be a tendency amongst policy makers to frame steroid or PIED use outside of elite sport as an issue within sport, and to call for the same types of policies that are being used in anti-doping (Kimergard, 2014). This paper will briefly explore the PIED policies of three countries, Sweden, Belgium and Denmark, highlighting the ways in which anti-doping in elite sport is informing national drug policy and encouraging a zero tolerance approach to PIEDs as a social health issue.

Stop the boats! Moral panic in Australia over asylum seekers

This article analyses the social reaction to asylum seekers in Australia through the lens of moral panic theory. It argues that the most recent campaigns to deter ‘boat people’ from arriving in Australia have all the hallmarks of a classic moral panic, which have been successful because they resonate with deep-rooted anxieties about Australia's national identity and way of life, relating, among other things, to fear of Asian ‘invasion’ and concern with multiculturalism. However, the article seeks to extend moral panic theory to propose that rather than being episodic (as the original moral panic model suggests), moral panics over asylum seekers, at least, are now relatively permanent, which, it is argued, is largely a function of the inexorable ‘war on terror’ where the figure of the Muslim-terrorist-refugee is constructed as a transnational folk devil. On the other hand, the article argues that while resistance to moral panics seems to challenge the view that moral panics are forged of consensus (a key moral panic ingredient), societal reactions to refugees do resemble classic moral panics insofar as the negative response is broad and unified.

The defamation of Joy Gardner: press, police and black deaths in custody

After the death of a black person in custody, information on the circumstances in which it occurred is hard to come by. The police force, as of nature, closes ranks, releasing statements to the press, which can misinform about the victim. The UK’s press colludes with this, failing to properly investigate the role of the authorities in a suspect’s death. The author focuses on the case of Joy Gardner, who died following a deportation raid in 1993. Following her death, the press presented her as a violent, aggressive ‘illegal immigrant’. Gardner’s case shows how the press constructs a Black folk devil, and in so doing can serve to justify police brutality.

Criminalising the Other: challenging the race-gang nexus

Whilst criminologists, sociologists and policy-makers fuel a perennial debate over the existential value of the ‘gang’,1 the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales creeps further into the lives of marginalised and excluded young Black men who have been identified as ‘gang-involved’, a ‘gang-concern’ or ‘associated’ with a gang. Drawing on research commissioned by two North West (English) Local Authority Crime Reduction Partnerships, this article offers a unique insight into the problematic way that the term ‘gang’ is being appropriated and used by criminal justice agencies. The findings suggest that the ‘gang’ label legitimises the over-policing of Black people and communities and acts as an inhibitor to the reconciliation of other, more acute, socio-economic problems endured within Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. Inspired by the paper ‘White sociology, black struggle’,2 this article is concerned with the problematising effects and the enduring features of the gang construct as a ‘signifier’ for Black men. More contentiously, it highlights the contribution of criminology to the Othering of young Black men, to show that the contemporary position of young Black men as significantly overrepresented and differentially treated within the CJS reflects a continuity with the idea of the ‘Black folk devil’ inherent within a burgeoning body of ‘uncritical’ criminology.

Rogues of the Racecourse

This article focuses on the reporting of racecourse crime, exploring the shifting cultural contexts in which the press constructed outbreaks of metropolitan gang-related crime. The first part of the article looks at the extended coverage of what became known as the ‘racecourse wars’, concentrating on three key themes which permeate the accounts of racecourse crime between 1920 and 1925: the organisation of crime, the use of firearms and the mobility of criminals. The coverage of these events, which can be traced across a number of different newspapers, was often described in ways that reflected concerns about the organisation and professionalisation of crime. After 1925, despite continuing outbreaks of violence and racecourse-related crime, the press coverage subsided. However, in 1936 the racing men once again became ‘folk devils’, and the final part of the article explores the re-emergence of press reportage by considering the responses to the Lewes Racecourse Affray in June 1936. In this latter period, the rising influence of the American gangster film (as well as coverage of events in American cities such as New York and Chicago) meant that a newer language of gangsterdom would become increasingly embedded in British cultural forms.

Helping Muslim boys succeed: the case for history education

Recent research suggests that Muslim boys have become the ‘New Folk Devils’ of British education, who are characterised by resistance to formal education, especially at secondary level, and under‐achievement. Since the 1990s, British Muslim boys would appear to have become increasingly alienated from compulsory schooling, especially in the humanities subjects which lack obvious instrumental value.This mixed‐methods study of the performance of 295 secondary school British Muslim boys in their compulsory school history provides evidence which interrupts this narrative of the academic under‐achievement and educational dis‐engagement of Muslim boys, especially in the humanities subjects. When viewed through the prism of a laminated, non‐reductive model of educational success, this indicative sample of British Muslim boys could be considered to have had significant success at a traditional humanities subject such as history intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, instrumentally and civically.This paper therefore proposes that history can provide a vital meaning‐making tool to generate the success of Muslim boys in a variety of significant dimensions both in and out of school. It suggests how history can be more fully and effectively harnessed by teachers, parents and policy‐planners to encourage internal integration and external social engagement in British Muslim pupils.

Riding in the shadows: The reaction of the British print media to Chris Froome’s victory in the 2013 Tour de France

On 21 July 2013 Chris Froome became only the second British cyclist to win the Tour de France. This paper examines how the events surrounding Froome’s victory in the 2013 Tour de France were reported in the British (London-based) print media the day after his victory. Data were collected from nine different daily newspapers on 22 July with a total of 52 pages of coverage devoted to the story. Thematic coding revealed that, despite a comprehensive victory, Froome appeared to be framed as being in the shadow of two other prominent cyclists. Firstly, Froome’s victory appeared to be framed within a moral panic surrounding the use of performance-enhancing drugs in cycling, with his achievements partially overshadowed by the ‘folk devil’ that is Lance Armstrong. Secondly, the data suggested that narratives around British national identity were prevalent within the reporting of Chris Froome, with this reporting particularly focused on the issue of his African heritage. Initial analysis indicated that the British print media actually celebrated Froome’s African roots, suggesting that they may be starting to embrace a new post-imperial form of national identity that reflects the multicultural or hybrid nature of 21st century Britain. However, we would also argue that Froome may only have achieved an ambivalent position as a British hero and that his African heritage – although celebrated to an extent – means that in the eyes of the British print media he still sits below Sir Bradley Wiggins in what might be described as a ‘hierarchy of Britishness’.

Strength of rhetoric in Christian conservative and radical feminist movements

Over the course of the latter twentieth century in the western world there has been a rise of several notable grassroots and counter cultural movements. This article aims to expose the similarities between two of these influential movements: Christian social conservatism and radical and cultural feminism, and to emphasize how both of these movements are largely founded upon a strong, unmovable rhetoric and the use of folk devils and an overall fear of any outside influence in order to legitimize their fears over a perceived threat. This article will also examine how changing perceptions and ideologies within both the Christian right and the radical feminist movement have resulted in a backlash amongst those who consider themselves the 'true' practitioners of their respective movements ideologies.

Looking Within and Without: The Path to Tread by Muslims

There is no doubt that relation between the Muslim world and the West is often dominated by simmering distrust and antagonistic feelings although they may not always boil over. Tensions and recriminations abound and so do arguments and justifications. The need to find common grounds do not get translated into intentions or sincere efforts to move forward as the past casts a long shadow over the present. Typecasting a billion-plus fellow human beings or their faith as objects of dread or hatred as is being done by the West through fomenting Islamophobia needs to be prevented. Muslims must be able to reassert their true identity and earn their rightful place in a world dominated by Western power and influence. This may begin to happen if Muslims denounce and repudiate all the wrong that is being done in the name of their great religion, speak for themselves, develop religious and community leaders who are well equipped to impart the right knowledge and effectively address contemporary issues that confront Muslim societies and countries, and revive the spirit and unity of the ummah. Only then can they effectively fight not just the menace of Islamophobia, but also the injustices and discrimination in their own countries and those that are perpetrated by the West. The West must also turn their gaze inward and admit their role in creating this 'Great Divide'; they need to realize that their overbearing attitude toward Muslims and relentless depiction of the latter as their common folk devil will inevitably have undesirable, serious, and long-term consequences.

What Does Geography Have To Do With It?

In the first decade of the 21st century, the Eurogang Program of Research (hereafter referred to as the Eurogang Network), a group of U.S. and European criminologists, began a systematic effort to examine the European gang phenomenon. However, the notion that American-style street gangs represent a real threat to European nations has not been universally accepted, as critics warn about the dangers of making gangs and gang members into “folk devils” for a broad range of societal ills. In order to provide insights into the status of troublesome youth groups in the European context, the present study examines three separate surveys of school children aged 13 to 16 years who resided in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, and the Netherlands. Using definitional and research protocols developed by the Eurogang Network, this article explores correlates of individual delinquency reported by street gang members and members of other delinquent youth groups that reportedly engaged in criminal activities but were not defined as street gangs using the Eurogang Network definition. The study turns on the extent to which the self-reported individual and group misbehavior can be understood in terms of personal-biographical characteristics—but especially citizenship status, specific youth-group membership, and nation of current residence—and the influence of putative risk and protective measures. The implications for youth gang intervention efforts are discussed, along with what the findings suggest about comparative efforts to explain misbehavior by members of two types of troublesome youth groups.

Reporting disability in the age of austerity: the changing face of media representation of disability and disabled people in the United Kingdom and the creation of new ‘folk devils’

Following its election in 2010 the UK’s Coalition Government has sought to implement radical restructuring of disability-related benefits justified by reference to the financial crises of 2007/08. In this article we examine how these changes have impacted on coverage of disability in the UK media comparing and contrasting coverage of disability in newspapers in 2010/11 with a similar period in 2004/05. Our analysis suggests that disabled people have become a ‘folk devil’ and that there has been a significant change in the way that disability is reported. Newspaper coverage in 2010/11 was less sympathetic and there was an increase in articles that focused on disability benefit and fraud, and an increase in the use of pejorative language to describe disabled people. An audience reception study suggests that this coverage is having an impact on the way that people think about disabled people.

Prevent-ing Muslimness in Britain: The Normalisation of Exceptional Measures to Combat Terrorism

This paper argues that the Prevent strand of the British counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) and the related normalisation of exceptional measures to combat terrorism have had a significant impact on the ways in which Muslim communities can play out their Muslimness in Britain. State treatment of Muslims as a suspect community facilitates the (re)production of widespread Islamophobia that penetrates the social fabric and reinforces a popular image of Muslims as folk devils of late modernity. Those Muslims who exhibit popularly understood signifiers of their identity (e.g.: skin colour, beard, hijab) risk becoming an easy, immediate target for state discrimination and social prejudice. After exploring how this vicious cycle is produced and reproduced at both the macro-(state) level and the meso/micro (community and individual) level, some tentative recommendations will be provided. These recommendations advocate for: preventative measures that are grounded on bottom-up approaches and that are able to empower Muslim communities; the promotion of a better, more nuanced understanding of Islam within broader society; and a reflection on the philosophical ideas of difference and diversity as they relate to the coexistence of pluralistic, multi-ethnic communities within post-modern, global societies.

Professor Stanley Cohen: an appreciation

Like so many others, I am saddened by the death of Stan Cohen, my PhD supervisor, mentor, and supportive friend at a particularly difficult time in my life. I first met Stan in summer 1976, when I was applying for a PhD place. In awe of the author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics, a book which did so much to open criminology up to the sociological imagination, I was soon at ease and enjoying a wide-ranging conversation, with the difficult questions posed gently and seemingly lightly, that was Stan's distinctive style. Stan was, of course, the perfect PhD supervisor: always encouraging; nudging me back in the right direction when I was veering off-track. I began my teaching at Essex, and the deviancy ‘dream-team’ – Stan and Ken Plummer – was the best possible start to an academic career.

Social work, class politics and risk in the moral panic over Baby P

The hostile reaction to social workers following the conviction of the killers of Baby P in November 2008 was unprecedented even by the standards of previous high-profile child abuse deaths, such as Maria Colwell and Victoria Climbié. Media coverage, particularly in the press, was extensive. Reaction to the case has precipitated major reforms across social work at all levels. In this article, I argue that these events need to be understood through critical analysis of the political, ideological and symbolic dimensions of the reaction to Baby P's death. I show that recent developments in critical moral panic theory are useful in providing the basis for such an analysis – particularly the idea of moral panic as ‘an extreme risk discourse’ linked to processes of moral regulation, and as an extreme form of othering. I draw on research involving the qualitative document analysis of press reports about Baby P that were published during the first week of media coverage in November 2008, following the criminal conviction of his killers and the lifting of reporting restrictions. I show how the reaction to the brutality of Baby P's death also reflected deep anxieties about ‘new’ class formations in contemporary Britain, specifically the behaviours of an imagined dangerous, contaminating underclass, and involved the assertion of middle-class identities. In its complex and contradictory constructions of social workers in the case as ‘folk devils’, the moral panic over Baby P revisits profound, unresolved moral disturbance about social work's necessary propinquity to the underclass and its capacity for moral regulation and social control.

New Folk Devils: Muslim boys and education in England

New Folk Devils: Muslim boys and education in England

The moral panic about the socializing of young people in Minangkabau

This paper analyses the discourse surrounding the perceived threat of free seks and pergaulan bebas (free socializing) to the moral health of young Minangkabau people, and in particular, young women, in West Sumatra. It uses the sociological frame of “moral panic” to examine contemporary discussions about globalization and the influence of “the West” in West Sumatra. The paper examines the way in which “the authorities” in West Sumatra (media, such as teen magazines and newspapers, academics, government and law, teachers, and community leaders) present the threat, and the way in which young people, who are the target of the moral panic onslaught, see themselves in relation to the threat. I argue that, unlike the original “folk devils” of the moral panics in Britain, young people in Minangkabau broadly give their consent to the authorities, displaying a striking commitment to social conservatism, local culture, and Islamic values.

Folk devils and racist imaginaries in a global prism: Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the twenty-first century

Rather than discourse this article argues that the challenge facing anti-racist scholars is to grasp the visceral, atavistic nature of the differential social imaginaries and deep-seated psychological fears of difference and sameness that constitute contemporary racisms and their historical mutations. Is it the case, as Said argued, that essentialized, contrastive racist constructions of Islam and Judaism persist over many centuries or is it possible that current affairs – globally transmitted violent encounters such as 9/11 or the Gaza Cast Lead operation – can transform racist imaginaries about the essential and unchanging nature of protagonists, Jewish and Muslims, and in doing so, unconsciously reverse earlier stereotypes? Depicting three paradigmatic racist folk devils, the paper examines the particular conundrums associated with anti-Zionism and its equation with the ‘new’ anti-Semitism. It concludes by exploring the implications of self-critique in seeking peace between Muslims and Jews.

Respectable drinkers, sensible drinking, serious leisure: single-malt whisky enthusiasts and the moral panic of irresponsible Others

In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus – the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other.