Depicting how certain genders pertain to specific gender roles, stereotypes of minority ethnicities, the usage and application of language, and even social class; are all examples of how social constructionism is used in society. Social constructs are not a tangible being one can see or touch; rather it is an impalpable entity that is a result of the process of social relationships throughout history. All practices and events that occur over the history of time accumulate into current social constructions. Social constructionism is founded upon its linguistic idealism; the doctrine that something exists if it is thought, spoken, or written about. This condition relies on the circumstance that all existing intangibles derive from the mental
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In Hacking’s The Social Construction of What?, there were certain guidelines that one must pertain to in order to be considered a social construct. “(1) X need not have existed, or need not be at all as it is X, or X as it is at present, is not determined by nature of things, it is not inevitable. (2) X is quite as bad as it is. (3) We would be much better off if X were done away with, or at least radically transformed.” (Hacking 1999) Hacking’s choice of language is in a confusing manner, but while emplacing a social construct in the sections that designate X which is the variable; it becomes clearer. An example would be the social construct of gender. While connecting the circumstances of social construction to the social construct of gender, the …show more content…
One notion that arose interest in his readings were of Richard Quinney where he states how the social reality of crime is founded upon classifying human behavior as acting accordance to social constructed definitions of criminality. (Quinney 1970) The way individuals act, no matter whether acting lawful or unlawful, without giving such classifications; are all generally considered behaviors, actions, and choices. It is not until social constructs of how certain behaviors can disobey the church and the common conscience of society arise thus designating individual’s actions to criminality. The social construct of behavior and actions are vast to its subcategories, taking criminality as one of them. Therefore, the concept of behavior gives criminality existence in the way that criminality cannot exist without behavior and actions. Saying so, there is no true essence or truth in criminality; hence making it a social
In Hacking’s The Social Construction of What?, there were certain guidelines that one must pertain to in order to be considered a social construct. “(1) X need not have existed, or need not be at all as it is X, or X as it is at present, is not determined by nature of things, it is not inevitable. (2) X is quite as bad as it is. (3) We would be much better off if X were done away with, or at least radically transformed.” (Hacking 1999) Hacking’s choice of language is in a confusing manner, but while emplacing a social construct in the sections that designate X which is the variable; it becomes clearer. An example would be the social construct of gender. While connecting the circumstances of social construction to the social construct of gender, the …show more content…
One notion that arose interest in his readings were of Richard Quinney where he states how the social reality of crime is founded upon classifying human behavior as acting accordance to social constructed definitions of criminality. (Quinney 1970) The way individuals act, no matter whether acting lawful or unlawful, without giving such classifications; are all generally considered behaviors, actions, and choices. It is not until social constructs of how certain behaviors can disobey the church and the common conscience of society arise thus designating individual’s actions to criminality. The social construct of behavior and actions are vast to its subcategories, taking criminality as one of them. Therefore, the concept of behavior gives criminality existence in the way that criminality cannot exist without behavior and actions. Saying so, there is no true essence or truth in criminality; hence making it a social