According to The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies, a social construct "is an important methodological tool used when investigating social phenomena. It is a general term referring to the idea that social phenomena are best understood as products of social interaction (Credo Reference). This page addresses common social constructs relating to gender and provides resources and varying perspectives on the ideas.
“According to sociologist W. I. Thomas, “if a person perceives a situation as real, it is real in its consequences.” This statement is also known as the Thomas Theorem. In other words, our behavior depends not on the objective reality of a situation but on our subjective interpretation of reality. The consequences and results of behavior make it real” (www.sparknotes.com)
“Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann wrote a book called The Social Construction of Reality. In it, they argued that society is created by humans and human interaction, which they call habitualization. Habitualization describes how “any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern, which can then be … performed again in the future in the same manner and with the same economical effort” (Berger and Luckmann 1966). Not only do we construct our own society but we also accept it as it is because others have created it before us. Society is, in fact, “habit”” (www.pressbooks.howardcc.edu).
The following examples of social constructions are taken directly from Your Dictionary.
“adulthood – The specific of when a person is considered to be an adult is a social construct. In the United States and most of the European Union, people are considered to be adults at the age of 18. In Scotland, however, people are considered to be adults at the age of 16.
gender behaviors – The concept of certain behaviors being specific to a person’s gender is a social construct. This applies to the idea that men should keep their emotions bottled up or the notion that women are overly emotional. It also applies to beliefs that boys should play with trucks and girls with dolls.
gender roles – There are also social constructs associated with gender roles, such as the formerly widely held belief that women should stay home and men should work. This also relates to beliefs that certain types of jobs are women’s work (nurses, teachers), while others represent men’s work (doctors, construction work).
government – The concept of how government should work is a social construct. People in different societies don’t all have the same collective perception regarding how government should work. That’s why there are so many different types of government around the world.
greetings – The manner in which people greet each other is a social construct. Shaking hands, for example, is meaningful as a business greeting only because people view it that way. The same is true for kissing people on both cheeks as a greeting in cultures where that is a common practice.
disability – The concept of disability is a social construct. The social construct of disability often relates to visible indicators of disability, such as a wheelchair or missing limbs. People who have less visible disabilities are often misunderstood because their conditions don’t fit into the social constructs of others.
family – The concept of family is a social construct. Some perceive family to be limited to the traditional nuclear unit of mother, father and biological children, while others take the broader perspective that there are many types of family structures.
fashion – The idea of what type of apparel is considered fashionable is an example of a social construct that changes quickly. What is fashionable one year may not be fashionable the next, based on how what designers create and influencers share catches on in the larger society.
illness – Illness is also a social construct. The word “illness” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone; some only perceive medical conditions as illnesses if they would cause a person to be bed-ridden or contagious, while others perceive a wide variety of medical circumstances to represent illnesses.
marriage – The concept of marriage is a social construct that is not perceived the same by all groups. Some groups view it as a contract while others see it as a religious sacrament. Within some groups, marriages are arranged while in others the decision of who to marry and whether to marry is a choice.
money – Currency used as money is made of paper and metal. It only has value because people in society assign value to it. Before paper money and coins existed, people used other items that had value to exchange for goods and services.
religion – Aspects of religious practices can represent social constructs specific to a certain denomination or faith. For example, in Catholicism, women are not allowed to serve as priests. However, in many other faiths, women are allowed to serve as priests or the equivalent (pastor, preacher, rabbi, etc.).
time – Time is a social construct. It is meaningful only in the context of the human-created systems that are used to describe time (seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) and make it meaningful. In some places, Daylight Savings Time is not observed; the concept of seasonal time changes does not exist where they are not practiced”