After months of staying away from Twitter, I finally logged in again. A particular tweet caught my attention — it referenced a book claiming something that made me pause: gender is variable and changes over time. In their first column, the book explained that gender is a socio-cultural construct.

What Socio-Cultural Constructs Really Mean

Now, what really Socio-cultural constructs means? Socio-cultural constructs are rules or ideas created by society that people naturally follow, but they aren’t universal or natural truths. For instance:

• Gender roles like “boys should be strong, girls should live inside the home, they are not for jobs ” are dictated by society, not biology.
• Beauty standards — what society calls “beautiful” — vary across time and culture.
• Social etiquette, like handshakes or saying “Namaste,” is society-made.
• Even definitions of success, such as “high-paying job + status + big company,” are socially defined.
• Respect automatically given to government jobs — teachers, IAS officers, or police — is also socially constructed, not inherently required.

The Ridiculousness of Curriculum vs Reality

And now think about it — I’m male. So does that mean my gender is just a socio-cultural construct? How ridiculous is it that our main curriculum teaches things like this as if it’s some groundbreaking truth? What’s the point of it? Is it really necessary to teach this in schools?

The real socio-cultural constructs aren’t about acknowledging that gender can vary — they’re about enforcing harmful rules: girls can’t pursue certain jobs, boys mustn’t express emotions or show vulnerability. And look at the impact:

• Allowing girls to work freely boosts the economy and GDP.
• Letting boys express emotions openly reduces heart attacks, depression, and even student suicides.

This isn’t just theory — these are tangible outcomes that affect our society and the future generation. Yet, our education system chooses to focus on abstract, sometimes pointless debates, while ignoring the constructs that really shape life and wellbeing.

Gen Z: India’s Best Generation till now after 1947

They are destroying our best generation — and you know what, Gen Z is truly the best generation of India. Why? Because of our circumstances and culture. The colonial mindset in India wanted obedient, unquestioning citizens — and the education system was designed exactly for that: to produce people who don’t question, who just follow.

As a result, much of our culture suffered. We left behind yoga, meditation, spirituality, and philosophy, while blindly carrying forward negative aspects like caste discrimination and many other outdated practices — without questioning. Even our scriptures say that over time, knowledge and texts should be critically examined.

And look at what’s happening now: our generation is reclaiming what’s ours. The West is practising yoga, meditation, even reading the Bhagavad Gita — but even after seeing them, the youth of India are rediscovering it at the root, reconnecting with our culture. Yes, there are youth who experiment with drugs, but the ratio of the conscious, ambitious, and culturally aware young people is increasing every day.

Ten years ago, much of India’s talent was being destroyed by the pressure to prepare only for government jobs. But now, the youth are ambitious — they want to start businesses, innovate, and become financially self-reliant. People are asking questions about company ethics, food ingredients, civic sense, and much more. From every perspective, our generation is growing — culturally, financially, and socially.

Internal Decay: The Tree and the Termites

So what do I think — is it easier for the West or China to “see” India as a vulnerable country? Sure, we have a strong army and intelligence agencies, and they will protect us from external threats. But here’s the thing: what really matters is what’s happening inside. You can save a tree from cattle, but if termites are eating it from within, it will still die.

This is exactly what’s happening with our education system and society. External threats can be managed, but internal decay — rigid thinking, outdated rules, blind conformity — is silently destroying the roots of our future. And that is far more dangerous than any foreign invasion.

The Dangerous Experiment: Gender and LGBTQ Misrepresentation

You might think this is all easy to argue — that no boy or girl will actually change their gender, and everyone is comfortable in their own identity. But here’s what happens: society starts normalising it. Changing gender is like changing clothes. Elon Musk’s son publicly changed his gender, and soon, similar moves by celebrities will follow — subtly normalising these actions in society. People will start thinking, ‘This is normal,’ without questioning the deeper implications on real socio-cultural values and the younger generation.”

Meanwhile, the real issues persist. Girls are still denied education in many places, face challenges in workplaces, and boys are discouraged from expressing emotions or vulnerability. These are the real socio-cultural constructs we need to work on. The West has experimented heavily with these ideas, and it has largely failed, creating confusion and social tension.

So in real life, we face certain problems — for example, girls are often not allowed to study in many places, there are difficulties for them in the workplace — and boys face similar issues too. Massive changes in gender norms will happen over time, because in the new generation, children are developing critical thinking. In India, the real socio-cultural constructs are these things.

The real socio-cultural constructs aren’t about acknowledging that gender can vary — they’re about enforcing harmful rules: girls can’t pursue certain jobs, boys mustn’t express emotions or show vulnerability. And look at the impact: these are the things we need to work on. This “experiment” has completely failed in the West — it is even more dangerous than a proxy war. The roots of gender and LGBTQ issues are very deep, so don’t take them lightly.