Referring to the controversy over Pluto’s demotion, in this quick video C.G.P. Grey does a fun job of explaining why the icy rock is no longer a planet. He closes with a discussion of why properly categorizing objects in space with words like “planets” may always elude us. It’s a great example of social construction.
Via Blame it on the Voices. For lots more examples, see our Pinterest pages on the social construction of everything and the social construction of race.
Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College and the co-author of Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
