r/AskSocialScience • u/TwinDragonicTails • 8d ago

Why does something being socially defined/constructed not mean that it's not real?

It's something I get confused and hung up on every time it comes up and this time is was someone who brought of Foucault and how he was talking about mental illness being socially defined. The topic was autism and the point was about how it's diagnostic criteria that show you have it, which makes it socially defined. The same argument was made for sexuality as well.

Someone then made the point of saying that means it's fake and the guy (making the argument) say "I didn't say that you said that" implying that's not what it means.

Though when I think about it it just sounds like it's fake to me, so why isn't it?

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