Social constructionism is
a theory of knowledge that holds that characteristics typically thought to be immutable and solely
biological—such as gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality—are products of human definition and interpretation shaped by cultural and historical contexts (Subramaniam 2010).
- Government.
- Race. “Race is not biological…
- Gender.
- Femininity/Masculinity.
- Illness.
- Marriage.
- Family.
- Organized Religions.
Simply put, social constructs do not have inherent meaning. The only meaning they have is the meaning given to them by people. For example, the idea that
pink is for girls and blue is for boys
is an example of a social construct related to gender and the color of items.
Social construction theory is about how we make sense of things. It assumes that we ‘construct’ mental representations, using collective notions as building blocks. In this view,
happiness is regarded as a social construction
, comparable to notions like ‘beauty’ and ‘fairness’.
Virginity is conceptual, it is a social construction. When
we have sex
for the first time we do not actually lose anything. It does not change our identity, it is not life-altering and it does not affect our worth. … It praises those who remain “pure,” and shames those who choose to have sex before marriage.
A social construct is
something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction
. It exists because humans agree that it exists.
Social constructionists believe that
things that are generally viewed as natural or normal in society
, such as understandings of gender, race, class, and disability, are socially constructed, and consequently aren’t an accurate reflection of reality.
Love is
a socially constructed entity
that has changed and developed its role in society over time (Coontz 2005; Beall and Sternberg 1995). … As love influenced marriage, changes and factors surrounding marriage may also influence love itself.
Why is happiness a construct?
Indeed, “the pursuit of happiness” is one of the US’s “unalienable rights”. … It flies light, but not for very long.” Happiness is a human construct,
an abstract idea with no equivalent in actual human experience
. Positive and negative affects do reside in the brain, but sustained happiness has no biological basis.
What is the construct of happiness?
Rather than constructing happiness as merely emotional well-being, Ryff (1989) and Ryff & Keyes (1995) proposed a eudemonic model of happiness, which they also called psychological well-being or positive functioning, comprising six dimensions:
purpose in life; personal growth; environmental mastery; autonomy; positive
…
To connect with TEDxRutgers, join Facebook today. “Success is
a social construct created by society that tells us what perfection should be
.” Angelina explores the stigmas against mental illness and implores us to reorient our perspectives to truly understand.
Sexuality is shaped (constructed) by social processes at the cultural and individual levels; thus
virginity is socially constructed
.
Who invented the concept of virginity?
The popularity of virginity is often attributed to
Mariology
, the Roman Catholic worship of the Virgin Mary, i.e., the mother of Jesus. Mariology began flourishing in the 14th century when Byzantine theologians reportedly believed that Mary (along with baby Jesus) was at the center of the cosmos.
As a social construct,
gender varies from society to society and can change over time
. Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social and economic inequalities.
To say of something that it is socially constructed is
to emphasize its dependence on contingent aspects of our social selves
. It is to say: This thing could not have existed had we not built it; and we need not have built it at all, at least not in its present form.
| gender role cultural norm | femininity gender norm | masculinity tradition |
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