Wearing socks *is* a social construct
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Reminds me of the time I saw people arguing on Reddit about the phrase "time is a social construct" where some people were completely incapable of understanding what that means and conflating the concept of time with the fundamental physics thingymcgee (idk how to call it and entity feels wrong).
People were trying so hard to explain that minutes, months, seasons, etc. are all arbitrary things made up only for them to retort with "but a year is a full rotation of the sun" or "seasons exist because that's how the planet changes its climate".
the fundamental physics thingymcgee (idk how to call it and entity feels wrong)
Your not wrong, "thingymcgee" is the technical term but it's still a social construct just like gravity.
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With clothing specifically, it generally has a purpose. Socks can make you more comfortable, warm up your feet, pull sweat away from your skin and generally reduce odors... Not all of those in all cases, mind you, but depending on the circumstances and the type of sock, any/all of these could be the case.
Undergarments in general have similar stories.
All undergarments also play a role in keeping your over garments cleaner. Changing out your underpants and throwing on yesterday's jeans can get you through a day with nearly no compromises... Depending on how dirty your jeans get on an average day.
Over clothes protect you from getting dirty to a limited extent, they'll block/absorb spills that reduces the amount you have to wash/bathe/shower... It's easier to just throw on a new shirt than get into the shower and clean yourself up. Same with pants and other over garments.
Outerwear usually provides a protective element, eg jackets can help prevent things like thorns from scratching you, or keep you warm in cold weather, or dry in wet weather...
Clothes, to me, are a useful thing to be wearing, each piece serving it's own small function, all of it coming together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
There's plenty of social constructs, this is true, but clothing definitely has a practical purpose, along with so many other things.
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I let my kid go all flower child about the socks. he got athletes foot. Socks SPECIFICALLY are not a social construct. they prevent athletes foot.
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I let my kid go all flower child about the socks. he got athletes foot. Socks SPECIFICALLY are not a social construct. they prevent athletes foot.
Hygiene IS a social construct, but that doesn't mean it isn't there for a good reason.
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Hygiene IS a social construct, but that doesn't mean it isn't there for a good reason.
Exactly. Not all social constructs are bad.
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Why is everyone is this comment section saying the same thing? Did I miss the part where they argue it's a bad thing?
They said the child was using to "get out of anything and everything", including wearing socks, which implicitly argues it to be a bad thing.
The child is more or less saying that because something is a social construct, that means that they do not have to follow it.
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Exactly. Not all social constructs are bad.
Hygiene is not a construct regardless. I swear people just go on the internet and say things.
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Not that I advocate violence, but not beating your kids, selling them on the street, or making them work in a factory is also a social contract.
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The cotton will dry as the wool absorbs the sweat from it
Could save you a toe
I've always been warm with my socks. Thank you
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Hygiene is not a construct regardless. I swear people just go on the internet and say things.
I'd say hygiene is a construct. From that wiki article:
As mind-dependent objects, concepts that are typically viewed as constructs include the abstract objects designated by such symbols as 3 or 4, or words such as liberty or cold as they are seen as a result of induction or abstraction that can be later applied to observable objects or compared to other constructs.
With this in mind, hygiene itself cannot be seen directly, and thus abstract. We can see the effects of hygiene (such as a clean body, lack of body odor, or opposite of hygiene, such as athlete's foot or other diseases), but we cannot see hygiene itself.
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Hygiene IS a social construct, but that doesn't mean it isn't there for a good reason.
That's only if you include pointless hygiene like shaving legs and armpits. You'll legit get skin issues, infections, and possibly attract pests if you don't wash your ass.
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I'd say hygiene is a construct. From that wiki article:
As mind-dependent objects, concepts that are typically viewed as constructs include the abstract objects designated by such symbols as 3 or 4, or words such as liberty or cold as they are seen as a result of induction or abstraction that can be later applied to observable objects or compared to other constructs.
With this in mind, hygiene itself cannot be seen directly, and thus abstract. We can see the effects of hygiene (such as a clean body, lack of body odor, or opposite of hygiene, such as athlete's foot or other diseases), but we cannot see hygiene itself.
I can see my maxi pads.
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Your feet are nasty. I don't need to see them.
Also. The world is nasty. Go raw dog the world and see how long you make it
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Not that I advocate violence, but not beating your kids, selling them on the street, or making them work in a factory is also a social contract.
Contract yes, as it pertains to laws, but I would argue construct no- since protecting one's offspring is a natural/biological impulse. It's non negotiable from a survival viewpoint, and some people have better survival instincts than others.
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I'm betting crocs.
I'm giggling at the idea of ancient people's wearing socks with Crocs, but I can't help but feel that clogs specifically might leave a different footprint.
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Hygiene is not a construct regardless. I swear people just go on the internet and say things.
hygiene, engaging in a practice until hygienic, is a construct. the act of scrubbing your skin might not be
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Feet will naturally build up thick, tough, resilient calluses in natural environments. There have been some interesting studies done on this topic with indigenous groups.
Which indigenous groups don't wear shoes? Genuinely curious. In North America, moccasins are pretty well-known. I understand that part of the need stems from climate though. I'm more curious about what terrain an indigenous group might live in that can be safe to live barefoot.
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everyone replying that socks have a practical use, as if social constructs arent practical???
my issue is that even though "clothing" is a social construct, the stuff that socks are made out of is not. calling that stuff a sock is a social construct, but choosing to put the fabric on your body is not. becoming "clothed" is a social construct, but the unspecified uncategorized state of having that fabric on your body is just a physical state, not a construct. the meaning we apply to it is the thing that wouldn't exist without socially constructed systems of meaning.
It's kinda sad, i guess. I'm usually the first one to champion XYZ is a social construct, and have to deal with morons not understanding it, but here? no one is willing to say it?
Socks are not a social construct.
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Contract yes, as it pertains to laws, but I would argue construct no- since protecting one's offspring is a natural/biological impulse. It's non negotiable from a survival viewpoint, and some people have better survival instincts than others.
You cannot invoke biology to generalize here. There are many mammals who use their offsprings as projectile decoys when they are in danger.
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Your feet are nasty. I don't need to see them.
Also. The world is nasty. Go raw dog the world and see how long you make it
Aren't hands much more nasty?
