Biological Essentialism And Social Construction Theory

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In an encounter with behavior or values regarding relationships and violence that conflict with their own, people often depend on describing these instances inadequately by ignoring crucial factors. Although, restricted explanations of violence and gendered relationships often promote fallacious conjectures. One of these explanations is Biological determinism, the ideology that human actions are dictated by multiple physical characteristics. Biological essentialism is an ineffective method to studying sexuality and gendered relationships because it does not consider the social, familial, and politically imposed regulations on the individual that have influenced his/her sexuality. Another restricted description is the culture of poverty theory,…show more content…
This explanation is the social construction theory, a comprehensive method that addresses the components of an individual’s life that biological determinism fails to acknowledge. Social construction theory is described by Vance in her article, “Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality,” as a framework that encourages ambiguity when analyzing identity and sexuality. Social construction theory also enables inquiry of the future of sexuality by empowering others to question its origin rather than constraining them to biological reasoning and inherent explanations. This framework is especially effective in analyzing gendered relationships because it assesses the impact of society on the choices and actions of individuals within their…show more content…
The exploitation of cultural values also enforces oppressive gender taboos onto females by the men in their lives. In Bourgois’ book, he explains that in jibaro tradition, a woman is granted permission to leave her parents only if she marries a man she loves. The union is then solidified after the woman produces a child. Since the circumstances of life in inner-city america is drastically distinct from jibaro family-oriented farm lifestyle, this belief is interpreted by the drug dealers of El Barrio as a vehicle to justify their objectification of the women in their lives. When Candy was only thirteen years old, she attempted to escape her abusive father by leaving her family’s household to live on the streets. She then met her husband Felix, who was only fourteen at the time, and became pregnant. Regardless that she was only thirteen and Felix was only fourteen, Candy’s father respected the jibaro tradition and released his authority of her to Felix. Their marriage suffered from despotism as Felix assumed authority over Candy as a possession rather than treating her as a companion. As discussed in Ross and Rapp’s article “Sex and Society: A Research Note from Social History and Anthropology,” a community is the space where an individual is able to recognize what is socially accepted
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