Analyzing Social Constructs in Northern Irish Society: An Overview

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of how Northern Irish society is categorized within political, social, and economic constructs. It explores the concept of social construction, examining how categories like age, gender, ethnicity, family, and social class are not inherent but are given meaning over time by humans. The essay delves into systems of stratification, highlighting how these constructs reveal power dynamics and inequality within society. Specific examples, such as the changing definitions of childhood and old age, and the impact of gender and ethnicity on social exclusion, are discussed. The role of demographic data, collected by government agencies like the Office of National Statistics, is also considered. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding these social constructs to analyze societal structures and address issues of inequality, providing a detailed overview of the complexities of social categorization in Northern Ireland.

How is Northern Irish Society categorised in political, social and economic
constructs?
Society is made up of many types of individuals that are categorised according to
what they have in common. Demographic data is the information collected on
these groups. It is collected by government agencies (i.e. The Office of National
Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) in the form of the
Census (this happens every 10 years) and the General Lifestyle Survey. Data is
collected about the make up of society, in other words what social groups there
are, who they are made up of, what they do in terms of how they access health
services, where they live, what they do in leisure time amongst other things.
Although these categories of individuals may seem like a natural part of life, they
are in fact socially constructed. This means that over time they have had
meaning attached to them by humans. The meaning(s) of these constructs are
often different across countries and cultures, and even within cultures. Marriage,
family and households, education, religious practice, age, gender and ethnicity
are social constructions, in other words what they mean to individuals has
been built by individuals over time.
In modern society there are also political and economic constructs.
Examples of these are called ‘systems of stratification’ or the systems that we
use to understand people’s ‘place’ in society. We categorise, or differentiate from
each other and thus show who has power, using categories such as age, gender,
ethnicity, social class and disability. Members of each layer of ‘stratum’ (singular
‘strat’) will have a common identity and culture as well as similar interests,
lifestyles and usually, life chances. Stratification is important because it
allows sociologists in health and social care to analyse who has more power or
status over others and this is an indication as to where there is inequality so that
services can be put in place to help certain groups or services to aid those in
need.
Age can be socially constructed in the sense that it is a way in which we
differentiate from each other. Childhood, for example, is a social construct.
There is an expectation of how someone should act during childhood that is
different from what someone who is in teenage or adulthood should act. These
assumptions are based on stereotypes, or assumptions. During teenage years
there are many changes that occur in life and this is often where there is a blur
between youth and adulthood. For example, the age of sexual consent, tobacco
smoking, and work have all changed over the years. In the early 19th Century,
there was no restriction on these activities (apart from marriage); today we have
the ‘age of consent’. Changes in education policies and welfare benefits have
meant that a child is under 18, yet there are many adult activities allowed at this

stage. A confusing time! Hobbs (2003) suggested that in the 1950s specifically
teenage social problems such as binge drinking were not so. This was because
young men learned to drink more responsibly in bars with older family members
or work colleagues rather than learning with their peers and having little social
control. This decline in social structures such as family and community have
been argued to be responsible for the rise of binge drinking.
Old age on the other hand, in British society is seen to be a time of being less
able, frail and in need of support. The age at which one is elderly has also
changed with age determined by social contact, physical ability, independence
and knowledge of medical & technological advances are increasingly more
indicators of who is considered the ‘oldest’.
Gender is another way we differentiate from each other and arguably the oldest.
Evolutionary biologists would say that men have always been dominant due to
physical dominance however, Cameron (2007) pointed out that past analysis of
these differences can be argued stating that the differences between men and
women are smaller than differences within. It may not be relevant that most
studies on these differences have been done by men. Statistics from the UN
estimate that 53% of the total world population are women doing three quarters
(75%) of the world’s work but only earning 25% of all earnings and holding only
10% of the world’s wealth. In the UK, women in every socio-economic group
occupy a position below the men of that same group. Despite the Equal Pay Act
1970, these differences remain the same.
Family is a social construct. Its definition has been disputed over many years
and by many commentators, but it is agreed that family, and emerging
households, are a group of one or more people together who share a common
identity. Family is not a natural feature of human life but it’s meaning is
something that over time has been tweaked and changed due to social changes.
It holds different meanings to different people. Northern Irish society is made up
of different family types such as nuclear, extended, lone parent, to name but a
few.
Ethnicity is a further social construct. Ethnicity (sometimes referred to as
race) refers to the shared culture of a social group which gives its members a
common identity in some ways different to other social groups. Historically it
was thought that certain genes made some ethnic/racial groups more superior
than others. This genetic opinion has been long since criticized. So called ‘racial
groups’ are complicated and it has been found that there has been so much
interbreeding between humans over time and the genetic differences between
these racial groups are no more than the differences between those in similar
populations. An ethnic minority refers to the ethnic group that there are less of

in any society. For example in the UK, 7.5% of British population classify
themselves as Asian British (Census, 2011). An ethnic minority does not
guarantee that they are a downtrodden group. The British Empire is a classic
example of a minority group that dominates large populations. However, in the
UK today, belonging to an ethnic minority tends to be linked to social exclusion
[i.e. they tend to be obstructed from rights or opportunities that are available to
the majority others] and have very few advantages available to them. However,
when social class and gender can alter the situation, for example, rich, male
Indians are disproportionately represented in the medical field.