4 essentialist doctrines are especially pernicious when they postulate the persence of essential characteristics as a matter of biology and genetic inheritance . The alternative to essentialism is some form of social constructionist account. The prototypical view here is summed up in simone de beauvoir's statement: 'one is not born a woman; one becomes one'.social constructionism emphasises the part played by social learning in the acquisition of supposedly 'essential' characteristics and can be regarded as a more realistic point of view which is better equipped to do justice to the diversity of experiences encountered by persons within a category.constructionism does not have it all its own way, however.some would maintain that we can speak of 'black nusic' or claim that only 'black' people can fully appreciate it on the basis of their shared origins and common experiences.