construct, this leads to the illusion that reality itself is a social construct. For example, since the language we use to describe gender is a social construct, gender itself must then be a social construct. It then follows that, if we deconstruct the language used to describe gender, then we effectively deconstruct and hence abolish the reality of gender itself (which would theoretically cure the problems of sexism, homophobia and transphobia!). Of course, all this is nonsense that won't lead us anywhere. It won't lead to anything constructive. All this will do is to cause a huge amount of unnecessary confusion throughout society, making proper rational debate impossible.
In conclusion, the attempt to deconstruct 'social constructs' that are actually not social constructs but actually cold hard reality, is a consequence of both critical theory's overly paranoid view towards the apparent reality, and postmodernism's tendency to conflate language with reality. These futile attempts won't have any effect on the reality itself, but its harm is in causing widespread confusion around the use of language, hampering proper rational debate and preventing the resolution of important social problems.
Are All Social Constructs Bad? Gender isn't a social construct. But some other things that most of us value, including institutions like marriage, concepts like liberty, norms around decency and civility, and 92
