R. J. Maratea
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
This article seeks to extend existing research that addresses how deviant individuals use Internet technology to communicate accounts that neutralize hostile labels associated with their behaviors. Data were collected from a message board dedicated to zoophilia; the sample was comprised of 4,983 individual posts drawn from 87discussion threads. Findings suggest that the posters routinely justify their actions through the production of neutralizing accounts. In particular, three new types of accounts were documented:appeals to enlightenment, claims of cultural diffusion, and neutralization by comparison.
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Deviant Behavior, 32: 918–943, 2011Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC SSN: 0163-9625 print=1521-0456 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01639625.2010.538356
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
This article seeks to extend existing research that addresses how deviant individuals use Internet technology to communicate accounts that neutralize hostile labels associated with their behaviors. Data were collected from a message board dedicated to zoophilia; the sample was comprised of 4,983 individual posts drawn from 87discussion threads. Findings suggest that the posters routinely justify their actions through the production of neutralizing accounts. In particular, three new types of accounts were documented:appeals to enlightenment, claims of cultural diffusion, and neutralization by comparison.
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Deviant Behavior, 32: 918–943, 2011Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC SSN: 0163-9625 print=1521-0456 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01639625.2010.538356
