https://www.thoughtco.com/symbolic-interaction-theory-application-to-race-and-gender-3026636

Symbolic interaction theory is one of the most important contributions to the sociological perspective. Below, we’ll review how symbolic interaction theory can help to explain our everyday interactions with others.

Key Takeaways: Using Symbolic Interaction Theory to Study Race and Gender

• Symbolic interaction theory looks at how we engage in meaning-making when we interact with the world around us.
• According to symbolic interactionists, our social interactions are shaped by the assumptions we make about others.
• According to symbolic interaction theory, people are capable of change: when we make a mistaken assumption, our interactions with others can help to correct our misconceptions.

Applying Symbolic Interaction Theory to Everyday Life

This approach to studying the social world was outlined by Herbert Blumer in his book Symbolic Interactionism in 1937. In it, Blumer outlined three tenets of this theory:

1. We act toward people and things based on the meaning we interpret from them.
2. Those meanings are the product of social interaction between people.
3. Meaning-making and understanding is an ongoing interpretive process, during which the initial meaning might remain the same, evolve slightly, or change radically.

In other words, our social interactions are based on how we interpret the world around us, rather than on an objective reality (sociologists call our interpretations of the world “subjective meanings”). Additionally, as we interact with others, these meanings we have formed are subject to change.

You can use this theory to examine and analyze social interactions that you are a part of and that you witness in your everyday life. For example, it is a useful tool for understanding how race and gender shape social interactions.

"Where Are You From?"

"Where are you from? Your English is perfect."

"San Diego. We speak English there."

"Oh, no. Where are you from?"

The dialog above comes from a short viral satirical video that critiques this phenomenon and watching it will help you understand this example.