Everybody constructs their perceived identity by one's appearence (clothes and hair), perhaps by their interests and activities. People like to feel part of a group, and sometimes that feeling leads people to become a stereotype or almost like a stereotype of who they are. A person's, say, musical interest often reflects upon other aspects of that person's life, such as his or her clothing. In my daily life, I actively try to be nice to people because. I wouldn't call that a "performance" because that makes it seem like I have different thoughts in my head, but it is definitely something I have constructed about myself, because that is the way I wish to be perceived.
But it is not just our personal selves that are being constructed. The cultures of people are always being constructed. Cultures don't just pop out of nothing, they start from something and build. That's construction. Every person is influencing everybody else and adding on to that culture. Store shops and magazines also construct our environments, telling us what to like and dislike. Teachers constructing our knowledge on a particular subject.
Our environment is very much constructed as well, the obvious road and building construction aside, the amount of side-walks in a city is a deliberate decision and very much constructs the way a city is used. Cars, needless to say, have very much constructed a new way of traveling farther and faster. The style of buildings gives an area completely different feelings, which is why people may chose to live in the city or the country. Those two places and different constructed environments.
I do not think that constructed is the antithesis of "real". I don't believe it means the same thing as "fabricated". To me, constructed means "built", which means it could still be very real. But there are plenty things that seem fabricated in life. Feelings are often fabricated to hide a person's true sadness or giddiness. People's critique of other people's artwork I think is also constructed. I use the word constructed because it probably is close to that person's true opinion, therefore not fabricated. But people, including myself, phrase our critique carefully so as not to sound too harsh. It's a very constructed response.
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