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Elements Of Social Construction

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It can be a difficult idea to grasp the idea of social construction. The idea that our reality may not be as simple or concrete as it can initially seem. It is also not an easy task to take what we feel most comfortable with, or what we think is the most natural or best way to live, and dissect it. Asking ourselves why things are the way that they are can be challenging. Sociologists have termed this the social construction of reality. This idea brings into question many elements of our everyday lives – elements that we may not even realized could have been constructed in the first place. One element that is easier to identify as a social construction is the idea of race. Race is constantly brought up in our lives through media, conversations, …show more content…

For individuals these roles start even before birth – expectations and norms that each gender is supposed to display to fit into our idea of what men and women are supposed to be. How we act, what we say and how we say it, what our interests are, how we interact with others, what we value; a lot of this can be defined by our gender. Growing up in a society where little girls are sugar and spice and everything nice and little boys are snips and snails and puppy dogs tails, it is hard to imagine that boys and girls could vary much from those ideas. However, our ideas of men and women are always evolving just as in other cultures the gender norms for men and women differ vastly from ours. Some cultures, such as some Native American tribes, acknowledge three or even four different …show more content…

Some behaviors are only devious when considered in the context of that culture. Devious behavior are those that have a typically negative consequence, either formally or informally. This can be harmless ones, such as picking your nose, to more severe ones, such as assault. However, things once considered devious may no longer be so as our perceptions change over time. Ideas of homosexuality or a person identifying as transgender used to be devious behaviors, whereas now they are more accepted and those individuals are finding their place along our society’s

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Professor Beckham believes the only reason the term “race” still continues to be used is because of the “social significance” it still has in society. It is evident that there are physical differences between people of different races, but these differences have no meaning by themselves in society. Therefore, there are distinctions drawn about certain races because people align these physical differences to social or cultural differences we observe in different races. Even so, these sociocultural associations are rapidly disintegrating in our society.

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In the book “You May Ask Yourself”, they define gender roles as “sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as male or female” (Conley Dalton). Gender roles are a very controversial matter. When people think of males, they automatically think of strong, brave, and the breadwinner. On the other hand, when people think of females they think delicate, housewife, and sensitive. I guarantee that most people in the world have this idea of each gender.

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Sociologists define race as a social construct because society has classified various groups of people based on physical characteristics such as skin color under the assumption that other characteristics would also be similar. This had occurred without any biological proof of correlation. This has also led to faulty belief systems such as racism, ethnocentrism, and the propensity for stereotyping. Fortunately, the intermarriages between races and subsequent procreation has helped cracked the facade of racial differences, at least those that aren't manufactured by society. I have a biracial niece whose father is black and mother is white.

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The first discussion of this course we have covered, we learned race is a social construction. According to Snip, he explained why he believes that race is a social construction; he argued that race is being used to pursue social class and political desires. Throughout the history race has changed from time to time. In the context of the United State race was used for assigned people based on their skin color then it become matter of personal identification. The book explains the concept of race, as this “Racialization is the social process by which a racial group identity is attached to a group and that is placed in a race-based social hierarchy.”

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Sociologist tries to show that race is not real and is made up, almost like it’s our imagination. That is social construction, they get you to think outside of the box and prove that we have made up perceptions. We perceive something as we see it, it’s how we grew up. An example of this would be skin color, which is race but, skin race is not always skin color. People that have darker skin normally come from warmer climates, leaving them with more pigment in their skin.

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Social Construction is an invention of a certain society, which only exist because people agree to act as if it exists. Then you must ask how the self is a social construction? And why is it important to realize this? In Social Memories, Eviatar Zerubavel explains that impersonal memories play a huge role in relationships just as much as we speak volumes about cultural identity and the politics of collective memory. Also, in what is the self?

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The Impact of Culture and Gender Roles Heather Richardson-Barker Drexel University Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender, as well as the influence of family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role. The term Gender, as defined by the United Nations, includes the psychological, social, cultural, and behavioral characteristics associated with being female or male. It further defines acceptable

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Gender is something that is brought to the attention of people well before people are even brought into the world. Take for instance, when a woman finds out that she is pregnant and is about to have a child. The first question that that women is asked is “What are you having?” In doing this we are automatically emphasizing the importance of being able to identify whether or not to buy “boy” things or “girl” things. As a society we deem it important for each sex to practice a set of “norms” of how to behave via that sex.

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Gender Roles in the Ibo and American Culture Gender roles can be found throughout history and the world and, in almost every case, there will always be differences. Girls and boys alike learn a set of behaviors, attitudes, responsibilities, and rights in accordance with their specific sex (Culture and Human Experience). The differences in gender roles can be especially obvious in Ibo culture and modern American culture.

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The idea that race is a social construction can explain a lot. When sociologists say this, they are referring to the idea that we see race, just as that, how we see it, rather than for what it actually is. What I have realized upon my own analysis of race as a social construction is that when we are speaking of a race that is not our own, we are more likely to generalize. “Whites” see all varieties of ‘black people’ as ‘black’, and ‘blacks’ see all varieties of ‘white people’ as ‘white’, when in reality, there are a multiplicity of varieties. I’ve had ‘non-white’ people ask me if I was a particular nationality, and when I say no and correct them, they reply with, ‘oh that’s the same thing,’ when it clearly is not.

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Social construction is a categorized system with strong physical, psychological, and social consequences, but without clear biological determination of something like gender. Take for example, how racial classifications have changed over time in the United States. All things that exist as institutions at all levels of social life are constructs that are realized through performance, fundamental realities. Marriage, for example, cannot be seen under a magnifying glass; we do not recognize visually married people. The reality of marriage is purely social and institutional.

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Social Construction Social constructs or community constructions divide repercussions, ideas, or proposals that are allocated to protests and occasions in the nature 's domain and to individuals ' admitted intelligence of their connections to and associations with these items. Social construction can likewise illuminate as a social machine, wonder, or classification made and created by society or a view of a different, gathering, or thought that is "developed" through social or social practice. In the area of social constructionist thought, a social construct is a thought or idea that seems, by all accounts, to be common and clear to individuals who acknowledge it yet could conceivably speak to reality, so it remains generally an innovation

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Society has made a clear distinction that there are some behaviors and responsibilities designated to specific genders. Although the line between genders has blurred over time, gender expectation is very much still in place. For me growing up, my mother was my role model, as a woman she taught me what my responsibilities and behaviors should be. Along with my mother, the media has also helped to reinforce gender distinctions. Having the opportunity to be raised alongside my brother opened my eyes to the difference between what our parents were teaching us.

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This gender role playing thing begins as early as the age of five for men starting with phrases such as “boys don’t cry” this carries out through there middle age years carrying a wide range of rules followed by

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Many groups or cultures have different views on what is considered deviant.

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