Episode 10: They Couldn't Do It Without Us: The Psychology of Normallizing Deviance

The Original Self Podcast · May 11, 2026 · 49m · transcript

Episode 10: They Couldn't Do It Without Us — Normalizing Deviance

In this episode, Evet DeCota examines one of the most urgent and underexamined forces

shaping our culture: the normalization of deviance. Drawing on psychology, sociology, and

deeply personal experience, she explores how sexual, economic, and political deviance all

share the same roots — and how systems of protection, media consumption, and our own

willingness to look away allows them to flourish.

Key Concepts Covered

• Paraphilic disorders and the DSM-5 distinction between atypical interest and disorder

• Robert Merton's…