A social construct is a concept or category that has socially and culturally mediated meaning. It is a theoretical framework that suggests various facets of social reality, such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, social hierarchy, nationality, religion, social norms, and social institutions, are created and maintained by social interactions. Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge that examines how individuals develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. It highlights the ways in which cultural categories are concepts created, changed, and reproduced through historical processes within institutions and culture. Examples of social constructs include:
- Race: While biological race may be considered a biological fact, the cultural associations we ascribe to race make it a social construct.
- Gender: Gender roles and expectations are socially constructed and vary across cultures and time periods.
- Social class: Social class is considered a social construct because we ascribe a range of other identity factors around class status.
- Beauty standards: Beauty standards are socially constructed and vary across cultures and time periods.
- Language: Language is a social construct because it is created and maintained by social interactions.
Social constructionism is often misunderstood as a way of saying "nothing is real" or "all things are relative," but it is actually a critique of how peoples understandings of things are always mediated by social interactions.
