M U LT I C U LT U R A L I S M I N T H E U S , R O B E RT W O N S E R

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION F RACE, CLASS AND GENDER

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY

• Reality is constructed socially.• Reify – to make real• social construction, that is, it is an idea

created by humans (i.e. doesn’t exist in the biological world but only in the social world) through social interaction and given a reality through our understanding of it and our collective actions.

• Does California exist empirically?

RACE

• Race as we know it is a social construction.• It exists not in the biological world but in the

social world.• Race and ethnicity are social constructions.• They are defined and maintained through

interaction.• They do not exist biologically.• They are reifications, social constructions.

RACE AND ETHNICITY

• Race is a socially defined category, based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people. • Ethnicity is a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor.

SOCIAL CLASS

• Also a social construction!• Social class refers to a system of stratification

based on access to resources such as wealth, property, power, education and prestige. • Sociologists often refer to it as socioeconomic

status (or SES).

• By the way, what’s the difference between income and wealth?

VALLARTA LOCATIONS

GELSON’S LOCATIONS

WHOLE FOODS LOCATIONS

GENDER

• Surprise! Also a social construction!

• Sex refers to an individual’s membership in one of two biologically distinct categories—male or female. • Gender refers to the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members.

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MALE AND FEMALE MEDIAN EARNINGS, 1959–2008

SEXUALITY

• You guessed it… also a social construction!• Sexual orientation is the inclination to be heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex), homosexual (attracted to the same sex), or bisexual (attracted to either sex).

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SEXUAL ORIENTATION

• Is sexual orientation a continuum rather than a few simple categories?

• Those who are asexual may simply reject any sexual identity at all.