How does deconstruction uncover hidden assumptions in social categories?

In the philosophy of social science, deconstruction functions as a critical procedure that uncovers hidden assumptions by dismantling the binary oppositions—such as heterosexual/homosexual, white/black, or nature/culture—that structure social categories.12

Rather than simply accepting these categories as natural or absolute, deconstruction reveals that they are often defined by a hierarchical relationship where one term is privileged while the other is marginalized or treated as defective. The process uncovers hidden assumptions by demonstrating that the "superior" category is actually parasitically dependent on the "inferior" one for its own meaning. For example, a social order based on the category of "heterosexual" may rely on a contrast with "homosexual" to define itself; deconstruction shows that the latter is a constitutive, hidden aspect of the former’s identity.12

By exposing how these oppositions are not fixed but are instead mediated through language and social practice, deconstruction challenges the perceived stability of social formations. It suggests that these categories are not objective truths but are products of linguistic and social processes, thereby inviting a critical reassessment of the self-understandings that shape human action and social relations.12