>What exactly does "social construct" mean?

From Wikipedia[0]:

    A social construct or construction is the meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event.[8]

    The social construction of target populations refers to the cultural characterizations or popular images of the persons or groups whose behavior and well-being are affected by public policy.[9]

    Social constructionism posits that the meanings of phenomena do not have an independent foundation outside the mental and linguistic representation that people develop about them throughout their history, and which becomes their shared reality.[10] From a linguistic viewpoint, social constructionism centres meaning as an internal reference within language (words refer to words, definitions to other definitions) rather than to an external reality.

And specifically regarding race being a social construct: https://archive.is/g5utD

>Are dog breeds a 'social construct'?

>Are species a 'social construct'?

Species are a social construct[1]. Dog breeds are not a social construct[2]. However, human races are not equivalent to dog breeds[3].

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructionism

[1]https://old.reddit.com/r/AskSocialScience/comments/ad58x6/is...

[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/biology/comments/rfapt7/are_dog_bre...

[3]https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.118...