On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Brian Siano wrote:
> In this case-- and given the responses I've gotten so far, I'm loath to
> ask it again-- the question was "What does 'socially constructed' mean?"
>
> I'm hoping for an answer that not trivially true (i.e., "it's not innate
> in genes," "it's something humans created,") or loaded with gaseous
> jargon ("it's the manifestation of white male hegemony implicit in the
> discourses of differentiating strategies..."). And it'd be nice to see
> an example of something that _isn't_ socially constructed-- just to make
> sure that it's not an entirely empty phrase.
Well, I'll give it a try. It's not very profound or complicated, and you may just consider it trivially true, but here's the idea. People's interactions produce "build" every aspect of our social world. Values, beliefs, attitudes, religious practices, political systems, nations are the product of ongoing social interactions. If you were to take away the relevant social interactions, that element of social reality would no longer have a practical role in a society (i.e., the U. S. would no longer exist as a nation-state if no one honored or recognized the U. S. government, laws, or citizenship; the Catholic church would not exist if no one practiced Catholic rituals or professed Catholic beliefs).
Like I said, not too profound. Note, however, this idea has little or nothing to do with the "nature/nuture" debate. For instance, when I say "gender is socially constructed" I do not mean that men and women are biologically identical, or that biology has no effect on gender differences. Whether or not gender is based solely on biology, a person must socially enact gender and use gender in everyday life to label and make sense of others. (Test: do you need to see a biological marker of gender to identify a person as a man or a woman in everyday social settings?) So gender--as a part of shared social understanding--is socially produced and sustained.
One other thing Kel emphasized: to say that something is socially constructed is not to make a truth claim about the construct. If I say that belief in God is socially constructed, it does not imply that God exists or that God does not exist. Rather, social interactions make God an important part of life in a given society. (Money is another good example.)
Miles