Social construct may be defined as the social mechanism or a category which has been created by the society. It may either be a perception which is created by an individual, a group or an idea which is constructed because of a culture. The present society has created a large number of constructs which are not good. In this research paper, the discussion will be done on the social construction of race and gender and the problems associated with the same. In addition to this, how can social construct forms to be the basis for discrimination and prejudice? Further, racism and sexism will be discussed with examples and the role of power in the same. To end, patriarchy will be discussed and its role in racism and sexism will be added

1. Social Construction of race and gender, patriarchy and prejudice and discrimination in the
society
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Social Construction of race and gender, patriarchy and prejudice and discrimination in the
society
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2. Social Construction of race and gender, patriarchy and prejudice and discrimination in the
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Introduction
Social construct may be defined as the social mechanism or a category which has been created
by the society. It may either be a perception which is created by an individual, a group or an idea
which is constructed because of a culture. The present society has created a large number of
constructs which are not good. In this research paper, the discussion will be done on the social
construction of race and gender and the problems associated with the same. In addition to this,
how can social construct forms to be the basis for discrimination and prejudice? Further, racism
and sexism will be discussed with examples and the role of power in the same. To end,
patriarchy will be discussed and its role in racism and sexism will be added.
How race and gender are socially constructed?
Race and gender are socially constructed. In spite of being a biological factor, gender is
considered as a social construct. The males are considered superior to the females in many
societies. The more a gender has been treated in a certain manner, the more one succumbs to the
same environment. Different people express that a gender is superior to another but do not
consider the biological factors associated with it. Gender is socially constructed because of the
views which has been created in theories or the culture around us (Glenn and Nakano, 1999).
The social construction of gender has been done by the people who are powerful within the
society and also by the performances of a specific gender. There isn’t any truth associated with
the same. According to social constructionists, gender is interactional. Similarly, race is another

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social construct. Race can be defined as the people who defer the people on the basis of color.
Race is considered as the indicator of difference. In spite of having no biological difference, race
is considered as a different by the society. Race has been created as a social construct as it is
defined by a dominant group or a power in the society. Race has been defined as a social
constructed because of collective acceptance and agreement of the same.
How can race and gender as a social construct, be a problem for
individuals?
Social construction of race and gender has always been a problem for the human beings. Female
gender is often considered inferior and is biased from the males. There are a number of times
when females are not allowed to be the part of certain job because of the social construct.
Because of this social construct, they have to face adverse situation which demotivates them.
Sometimes, they even have to face violence from the males. They are considered as weak or
someone who can’t defend them. Similarly, there are a number of problems associated with the
social construct of race (Lopez and I.F.H, 1994). A recent example of the same is that Americans
considers blacks inferior to whites. They are observed with a wrong eye in the society. In the
past it was observed that they were not allowed to travel along with whites and were separated
from a number of things which are being offered to whites. Thus, race and gender can be a
problem for individuals because of the difference in the way the people react to them. Had there
been no social construct against gender and race, both men and women were considered equal in
all societies. It also leads to the number of issues such as female infanticide and dowry etc.

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What is prejudice and discrimination?
Prejudice may be defined as an act to show incorrect or a negative attitude or opinions done by a
person belonging a race or a group for a member of any other group or race. Thus they are
assumptions made about someone without having any adequate knowledge on the same. It is
something which can lead to an impact on the emotional well-being of a person and the sense of
being one-own self. Discrimination, on the other hand may be defined as the actions or the
behaviors which is done by a person against the individuals because of the prejudiced beliefs. It
can be defined as the actual behavior reflected by the people because of prejudice.
How social construction of race and gender leads to prejudice and
discrimination?
There has been a number of studies where it has been found that social construction of race and
gender has led to discrimination. Because of the social construct that men are superior to women.
The males are given higher priority in the society and the women are discriminated. Because of
the social construct, there has been a mentality that a gender is superior to another or something
which can be done by a person of a specific gender can’t be done by another person. Social
constructs curbs the rights of the women and it is something because of which they have to face
discrimination (Fiske and S.T, 2000). It is due to social construct that a person begins to
discriminate on the basis of gender. When the society asks a person to bias another person of a
different gender, the follow the same. Similarly, racial discrimination is something which is not
in a person’s blood. When he or she observes other people around him/.her discriminating people
on the basis of race, they follow the same. Therefore, inheriting a social construct related to has

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led to discrimination and prejudice. It is the social construct which instigates a person being
superior on the basis of a gender or race.
Racism and sexism
Racism may be defined as the belief according to which a race is superior in comparison to other.
It can be defined as having such a belief because of which the members of each race possess
certain qualities, characteristics or abilities which are specific to that race in such a manner that
they distinguish the races on the basis of superiority or inferiority. An example of racism is the
plight of African Americans in USA. This is continuing from the times of history and continuing
even today. Having different water fountains for blacks and whites in the present times in USA,
is one such example. In the history they were considered as only 60 % human. Another example
of the same, was observed in January 2013, when an African American was tased for 20 seconds
in spite of making any kind of aggressive movement.
Sexism, on the other hand, may be defined as the attitude or behavior reflected by the human
beings on the basis of social construct of gender. It can be defined as the discrimination on the
basis of the sex or gender of the person. In other words, it can be defined as the ingrained
prejudice which leads to the hatred of a gender against another. Examples of sexism includes,
prioritizing the males in the jobs. This is observed in USA, where a women is paid 77 cents on
for a dollar made by every man. This has been observed from the recent studied by the Institute
of Women Policy result. Another example of the same is female feticide, a social construct
which does not allows women to be brought to the world because of their gender.

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Role of power in racism and sexism?
Power plays a very significant role in racism and sexism. The powerful race always tries to
dominate another and make them feel superior. It is also because of the power, that a race feels
fearful of another. Because of the advantage of power, racism continues in the world on political,
social, economic and cultural basis. Racism and Sexism is not exactly about one’s color or
gender, it’s actually about the person of a certain color or gender, who is powerful to another.
What is Patriarchy?
Patriarchy may be defined as the social construct according to which the primary power in terms
of political leadership, moral authority, privileges on the basis of society and the control on the
wealth is done by the makes (Swim et al, 1998). It can thus be defined as the fact in which the
males dominate the families and hold the authority over their women or children.
Role played by patriarchy in racism and sexism
Patriarchy is something which strengthens racism. Because of this, the women are not allowed to
demonstrate their independence and are not given rights to be equal. Thus, it plays a crucial role
in giving rise to racism and sexism. It is a construct which states that man will be the dominating
person in the family, clearly leading to sexism where the women loses a number of privileges
automatically.
Conclusion
Thus, racism and sexism are the social constructs which have continued to have negative impacts
on the society. In this research paper the discussion has been done on the social construction of
gender and race and the problems due to same, prejudice and discrimination on the basis of

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social construct and the role of power in racism and sexism. Further, the discussion on patriarchy
and its role in racism has been discussed.
References
Glenn,Evelyn Nakano, 1999. The social construction and institutionalization of gender and
race. Revisioning gender, pp.3-43.
Lopez, I.F.H., 1994. Social Construction of Race: Some Observations on Illusion, Fabrication,
and Choice, The. Harv CR-CLL Rev., 29, p.1.
Fiske, S.T., 2000. Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination at the seam between the centuries:
Evolution, culture, mind, and brain. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30(3), pp.299-322.
Swim, J.K., Cohen, L.L. and Hyers, L.L., 1998. Experiencing everyday prejudice and
discrimination.
Witz, A., 2013. Professions and patriarchy. Routledge.