The dangerous world of social constructs
Photography by Yuval Caspi
Isabelle Osborne reflects on the way social constructs may be contributing to discrimination and division.
Gender. Race. Beauty. Femininity. Masculinity. Money. Marriage. Valentine’s Day.
In times gone by, these concepts have been seen as existing in an objective reality, things that already existed and should therefore be upheld as the truth. However, these are products of human invention; products society has constructed to make us believe they are everyday truths. These constructs develop into what is considered ‘the norm’.
Having invented the world we live in today: society is actively manufactured by us human beings. If anything, such constructs are valued for how they allow us to make sense of the world - it is how people are differentiated. We have constructed a distinction between nature and nurture, yet nurture only exists as a representation of the codes society has laid out.
Social constructs create a suffocating reality which tells us what to think of certain individuals and communities. This leads to the development of hostility across different societies who hold different views to one another.
When behaviour is dictated by the constructs society determines, humans become governed by ideals that seek to divide. As a result, some people end up on the opposite side of what society deems as acceptable. Such is evident in race and gender debates prior to the 21st century. The Suffrage movement was a reaction to the belief that women were inferior to men, whilst the Civil Rights movement fought against the perception that white skin made an individual superior to those with black skin. Social constructs are only as strong as we allow them to be, and can be destroyed by a little determination and will.
Whilst many of these issues have been rehabilitated and the wounds of the past are beginning to heal, social media has expanded to such an extent that one of its major roles in society has become one of driving and validating certain social constructs that threaten to undermine the progress that has been made. For example, a rise in negative perceptions of body image in recent years, can in part be attributed to the damaging concepts of modern beauty promoted by social media sites like Instagram: young adults, particularly women, often actively modify their behaviour and appearance to fit the standards of attractiveness.
When we don’t fit the mould society constructs for us, we become outsiders. We believe we are doing something wrong, that we are ‘weird’, that we will never be accepted. The damage social constructs do is clearer today than it has ever been before.
Society needs to work to eliminate what we have constructed for ourselves. In a world where scientific and technological advancements beyond comprehension are being made, propelling society towards a brighter future, we are simultaneously taking steps backwards as we fashion an ideal world for ourselves that sees humans lose touch with reality.
This article was originally published in Issue 725 of Pi Magazine.