Post by tmiric on Dec 1, 2017 22:43:37 GMT
Many phenomena and ideas that are socially constructed relate to gender. In fact, gender itself is merely a social construction. While sex is strictly biologically based and dependent on reproductive capability, gender is assigned through the way people act and preform certain daily activities. For example, who is to say that boys are meant to play sports while girls are meant to dance and wear bows in their hair. It may seem only natural that males have more testosterone and therefore are better suited for sportive activities. however, there is no hard empirical biological evidence that proves that men should engage in rougher activities than women. It is merely a social construction.
Another example of a norm that seems natural are simple things like wear clothes in public and being kind to strangers. It may seem like common sense to wear clothes in public because to resist this norm would generally signal psychotic behaviour. however, it is not a natural factor that humans must wear clothes in public other than to keep warm. There is technically no innate reason why humans should wear clothes when it is 30 degrees Celsius outside. Similarly, to be rude to strangers seems like a unacceptable concept as well. While it is believed that being kind to strangers is morally natural, it is really a social construction that was created by humans because it seems like the right thing to do to avoid conflict.
Another example of a norm that seems natural are simple things like wear clothes in public and being kind to strangers. It may seem like common sense to wear clothes in public because to resist this norm would generally signal psychotic behaviour. however, it is not a natural factor that humans must wear clothes in public other than to keep warm. There is technically no innate reason why humans should wear clothes when it is 30 degrees Celsius outside. Similarly, to be rude to strangers seems like a unacceptable concept as well. While it is believed that being kind to strangers is morally natural, it is really a social construction that was created by humans because it seems like the right thing to do to avoid conflict.
