Truth and Lies

In my Sociology of Sexuality class, we've been talking about the idea that sexuality and gender roles are constructs of society...there's those academic words again. Meaning that the definitions of sexuality and gender are malleable and change depending on what society or time period they are located within. So pre-marital sex is considered bad now, but it hasn't always been. Ancient Romans considered pre-marital sex to be healthy...at least before Constantine came around (kill-joy!). So it is only because of how our society is set up, that pre-marital sex is considered bad.
Within this conversation, my professor gave a quote by a famous sociologist, W.I. Thomas. He said, "What is seen as real, is real in it's consequences." My professor elaborated on this by exploring the idea that the paradigm that we choose to view life is often as powerful as any truth. So even if something can't be "proven" as true, it can still hold powerful sway with it's consequences. I thought of patriarchy. Although it cannot be proven that men are better in any way than women, the idea that men are better than women has had powerful effects on our society. The fact of its falsity does not negate the immensely real consequences that patriarchy brings. So if enough people believe that a lie is true or real...then the consequences of that action or theory can create a power that rivals what has been proven true.
You know, for all our "scientific objectivity", we sure have a hard time telling lies from the truth.