social construct
Agreed-upon reality
A social construct is something that exists because people collectively agree it does, rather than because of inherent natural properties.
Money, marriage, race, and national borders are social constructs—they have real effects but depend on shared belief and convention for their existence.
Gender is increasingly understood as a social construct distinct from biological sex.
The term often appears in arguments that something treated as natural or inevitable is actually contingent and changeable.
Learning by making things
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- post-structuralismTheory rejecting stable meaning
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
critical theory · feminism · queer theory · intersectionality · hegemony · discourse · Foucault · Butler
Individual identity, personhood
- personhoodStatus as a person
- genderSocial identity category
- raceCompetition of speed
- ethnicityShared cultural heritage group
nationality · class · caste · sexuality · self-concept · self-identification · individuality · persona
Fixed oversimplified notion
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- categorizationArranging into groups
labeling · othering · in-group · out-group · representation · framing · narrative · ideology
Formal union between partners
- familyRelated people together
- governmentAuthority over a state
- lawBinding principle or regulation
- moneyCurrency for transactions
property · borders · citizenship · education · religion · hierarchy · state · corporation
constructionism
Learning by making things
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- post-structuralismTheory rejecting stable meaning
deconstruction · critical theory · feminism · queer theory · intersectionality · hegemony · discourse · Foucault · Butler · paradigm
selfhood
Individual identity, personhood
- personhoodStatus as a person
- genderSocial identity category
- raceCompetition of speed
ethnicity · nationality · class · caste · sexuality · self-concept · self-identification · individuality · persona · subjectivity
stereotype
Fixed oversimplified notion
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
categorization · labeling · othering · in-group · out-group · representation · framing · narrative · ideology · common sense
marriage
Formal union between partners
- familyRelated people together
- governmentAuthority over a state
- lawBinding principle or regulation
money · property · borders · citizenship · education · religion · hierarchy · state · corporation · ownership
tradition
Custom passed through generations
folklore · symbolism · mythology · heritage · values · festivals · language · cuisine · dress · taboos
convention
Agreed standard of behavior
propriety · decorum · protocol · custom · manners · politeness · decency · code · conduct · standards
- gendergender, male, female, masculine, feminine
- race studiescritical race theory, systemic racism, institutional racism, white privilege, intersectionality
- knowledgeknowledge, common knowledge, general knowledge, factual knowledge, prior knowledge
- philosophy of mindmind-body problem, mental states, consciousness, qualia, intentionality
- social equityracial justice, disability rights, racial equity, diversity training, intersectionality
- constructsbuilding, structure, framework, edifice, scaffold
social constructphysical law
Fundamental rule of nature
objective reality · law of nature · natural phenomenon · physical reality · instinct
social, construct, construction, reconstruct, constructed, constructing, sociology, reconstructed, constructor