Social Constructionism In Sociology

Social constructionism is a core concept in sociology, so strongly integrated in every society globally, that it has affected the way we all think. Social constructionism displays the fact that the social world is not natural, it is not revealed, and it's not even fully determined. It is completely made up by people, who also continue to transmit and cultivate such views. Everything that we have learned, that has not originated from our own senses, intuition, or reasoning we have learned from other people. 95% of what we know, we have accepted from others, which is why some say that even our own reasoning is influenced by those around us. Essentially, social constructionism explains how and why we give everything reason, from feminine …show more content…
Individually, the actual understanding of social construction, can sometimes cause an existential crisis. Once people understand that we only have meaning because we’ve given ourselves purpose, they tend to become a little depressed. On the other hand, it can be liberating knowing we all have the power to actually change the world as a single person, but even faster as a society. If we can change how something is viewed by the majority, we can essentially change the definition, thus changing the purpose. Take the institution of marriage for example, though it has changed all through history these past 70 years it has been strictly seen as between only one man and one woman. But as the agreement, that marriage should be between two people that love each other, no matter what race, or gender, became widespread, the definition of marriage changed. Which led to the spread of tolerance, acceptance, and even the changing of laws. Eventually, the definition of marriage will change again maybe allowing you to marry as many people as you’d like. Who knows? That’s just the cycle of society we change the meaning of things to fit the purpose needed at that …show more content…
The first thing I thought of, when I finally understood constructionism, is how this idea of femininity has been thrust upon women. I’m at the marrying age, where my family is expecting a proposal any day now. Unfortunately, it seems the best way to explain to males that you seek their affection is by being a woman. Women aren’t born, females become one; and to make things even more difficult there is no one ideal, to which all women should conform. Biology plays a role; it explains why men’s experiences tend to be very different, but what it is to be a woman is socially constructed largely by males and through other people’s expectations and assumptions. Society believes that as a woman I’m suppose to strive after beauty. A beauty that has been defined by men’s view of what they desire women to be, often denying all women’s capacity of action and thought. There have been different ideals of feminine beauty during different times and different places but the constant throughout history, has been that women are to be passive objects whose bodies are emphasized and displayed. To obtain such ideals woman are suppose to use these artifice to look ornamental, and disguise the more animal aspects of our bodies, such as body hair, because men find it unacceptable. These ideas start to be ingrained at a very young age, and we are constantly being reminded of the standard, which does horrible things to a