Everyday, without realizing it, we as a society have created a tacit list of things that are considered acceptable in certain situations.Social Construction reminds me of the saying "there is a time and place for everything."
A good example of Social Construction is spit...it's true! People find it okay to swap spit.(i.e kissing, or sharing a drink.) However when spit is by itself or someone spits on the ground or on someone, or dare I say it, drinks it, people are thoroughly grossed out.
But why are we pleased sometimes and grossed out at other times of spit? Spit is the same consistency in both situations-what's the difference? If we took out every judgement or experience we had with spit and we were "new minds" we wouldn't see a difference because there isn't one, but because we have had experiences in society with spit, we know when it is okay and when to grimace.
A example of social construction of reality that deals with gender comes to mind quickly. For the school dance, Turnabout, it is okay for a girl to ask a guy to a dance. That is what you are supposed to do. However, if a girl asked a guy to Homecoming, a girl might feel awkward-but why? It's not like there is any rule that a guy has to ask a girl... it's just another tacit rule that we follow.
Hey katie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, we all are totally okay with swapping saliva, but if we think about just drinking a cup of someone's spit it's disgusting. The homecoming thing is so true. I think that most girl's are afraid to ask a guy to homecoming because it seems so unusual since thats how our world makes it. Good postt(:
Katie, that's so true about homecoming!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I don't want to admit it, the first thought that came to my head when I read "girl asks a guy to homecoming" was ... weird.
I never really realized how much society impacts our thinking and opinions, even though I try to be an open-minded person.. Maybe realizing this will help me truly come up with my own opinions....
I agree with you about homecoming and how society has made it so that it sounds weird for a girl to ask a guy to homecoming. Thats why I think girls feel uncomfortable to ask a guy because of the way society influences their opinion.
ReplyDeleteGreat example with the Turnabout dance - imagine trying that with prom...awk-ward...
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