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   Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Thursday, 13-Apr-2023 20:31:39 JST Vagina Museum

   OLD THURSDAY THREAD REPOST

   HAPPY THURSDAY.

   Did you know that Thursday is a social construct? Let's go down that rabbit hole and explore what a social construct means.

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:28 JST Vagina Museum

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     When you start to examine the world, you realise that almost everything is, in fact, a social construct.

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:29 JST Vagina Museum

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     That's the thing with social constructs - they're a broad brush with which to understand the world, and can shift over time to reflect the views of a society.

     None of this is to say Thursday, a social construct, isn't real. It's Thursday, after all.

     But nevertheless, we can examine Thursday, evaluate how useful Thursdays are to us, look at the history and context of a Thursday.

     Kit Rhett Aultman repeated this.
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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:31 JST Vagina Museum

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     A social construct is an idea or concept, created or maintained by a society. Lots of things are social constructs - in our Muffbusters exhibition, we talk about virginity and gender as social constructs, but since it's Thursday, let's focus on the social construct of Thursdays.

     (you can explore Muffbusters free online here) https://www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/muffbusters/home

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:31 JST Vagina Museum

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     And a shout-out to the ambiguity which sometimes crops up when you say "next Thursday" - does that mean the Thursday this week, or the Thursday next week?

     Also worth noting, during lockdowns and with a move towards working from home, sometimes it's hard to remember which day of the week it is, and working hours may become more flexible, creeping away from the five day week...

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:32 JST Vagina Museum

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     you, sobbing: please, vagina museum, stop calling everything a social construct
     us, pointing at thursday: social construct

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:32 JST Vagina Museum

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     And so, we have a world where Thursdays are a thing which are generally helpful to have, but like all social constructs, Thursday isn't a universal experience.

     Hello to our friends in New Zealand/Aotearoa, where it's already nearly Friday. Please, no spoilers.

     And hello to the Pacific Islands in the GMT -12 time zone, where it's still Wednesday.

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:33 JST Vagina Museum

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     Days of the week are, in general, a useful social construct. if you're practicing religious observances such as Shabbat, you need to be able to name which day of the week it is.

     In the industrial world, Thursdays are also useful, as much of business and commerce uses a five day week.

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     Vagina Museum (vagina_museum@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 00:20:34 JST Vagina Museum

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     Social constructs are a means by which we see and understand the world. Thursday is the name we give to a way of splitting time into seven days, and is either the fourth or fifth day of the week, depending when you're starting the week.