Social Construction Of Social Divisions

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Social divisions are most commonly described as a realm of dominant discourses such as race, gender, material status and ethnicity. Gender being one of the largest social divisions, consists of representation of the ways individuals; talk, describe or perceive men and women which is socially constructed. This is determined in how society influences people’s understanding of the differences between femininity meaning what society considers as appropriate conduct for a women and masculinity meaning what society considers as appropriate conduct for a man. Whether true, false or inaccurate, social constructs are real phenomena that affect individuals lives that is represented through society, through the socialisation process. Gender construct is an idea that is based on what individuals socially believe, influentially ‘social divisions are how individual people act as agents within a social structure attempt to define themselves in relation to a range of powerful discourses’ …show more content…

Consequently, ‘for a successful subjectification to take place, we need to create the category of the ‘other’… the social construction of alterity is directly related to both order and the social division’ (Best, 2005: 2). Therefore, upon first meeting someone, this construction of the ‘other’ immediately considers their sex, ethnicity and whether they have a disability or not. The recognition of these biological factors dictates the way the individual will approach and act towards the ‘other’. Even though these features are biological, the way in which the individual act and treat the ‘other’ individual is created by socially constructed ideas and beliefs. These isolations that someone can oppose onto another individual relate accordingly as barriers to learning and development of individuals in society

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