General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: LUV capitalism!!! Study shows hyper-sexualization of women by the media has increased 10 fold... [View all]antigone382
(3,682 posts)They reveal a profound ignorance of how sociology works. It is ackowledged in the field that we are almost always working with abstract concepts--whether it's sexualization, class status, religiosity, aggression, happiness--even race is a socially constructed concept, based on common perceptions of something that has no real genetic basis. That doesn't mean it isn't critical to study those concepts and to understand their implications.
That's why sociologists working on a research project will develop precise definitions for the concepts they are studying, and the criteria and methods they are using in the study of those concepts. The data and methods are always listed in the research for other sociologists with a wide variety of perspectives to examine and challenge if they think such definitions are incomplete or inadequate, or if they think the methods are biased. It is subject to the same process of peer review as any other discipline based on the scientific methods (and yes, you generally have to pay to access the journals in which such articles are published, the same as you would for any other discipline).
If you want to challenge this study on its own merits, then do that. Condemning the field of sociology as a whole based on misperceptions of how it actually works and what it actually aims to do only weakens your argument.