The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

  Simone de Beauvoir

Born on January 9, 1908, Simone de Beauvoir lived in a patriarchal family devoted to religion and country. Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, and feminist philosopher, enlightened the concept of women in her time, and still today. She worked on equality and the concepts of women by questioning the place of women in society. She discussed this issue in her book The Second Sex (Le deuxième sexe) when the calendars showed 1949. In this book, therefore, Beauvoir claimed that women can resist and make own decisions against social gender roles.

What is the social gender and its role?

Beyond biological determination, gender is defined as the construction of femininity and masculinity in the social sense. The society determines it through institutions such as culture, religion, state, education, and family.

While man gained power through the economy, he ensured the continuity of this power through religion. Until the Enlightenment, strict patriarchal attitudes did not give women the authority to make decisions on almost any issue, including the right to life. Thus, using religious and cultural pressure put women in the background.

Inequality in the society

Relationships within the family play an essential role in determining the future of women in social and economic terms. In this process, common problems arise for women. Simon de Beauvoir also expresses her problems and struggle for liberation based on her life practices. Beauvoir shares her experiences from childhood to old age and the independence process in “The Second Sex.”Through her memories, Beauvoir becomes a partner in the lives of women struggling with similar social problems. It is subject to restrictions in terms of gender roles and emphasizes the universal qualities of this problem.

“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.“

Simon de Beauvoir defends what makes a female a woman. Femininity is not inherent; it has been learned through socialization. She explains that society teaches women to obey men and follow society’s perception of beauty or values. She resembles a girl to a “live doll.” Imagine that you have a doll and can dress the doll or make its hair how you want. The doll only listens to you because you are its owner, and you can give a shape to it. As in this example, a girl cannot idealize herself, and as a result, she learns to objectify herself. Over time, the woman becomes like this doll in society.

Quotes from The Second Sex

“…counselling man to treat her as a slave while persuading her that she is a queen.”

“…her wings are cut and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly.”

“A man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex; it goes without saying that he is a man.”

“…modern woman is everywhere permitted to regard her body as capital for exploitation.”

“By the time humankind reaches the stage of writing its mythology and laws, patriarchy is definitively established: it is males who write the codes.”

Sources:

Otoom, M. (2018). The Second Sex: an Analytical Study of Simone De Beauvoir’s Influence on Arab Feminism.

Yildirim, S. (2018). The Importance of Women’s Experience in Feminist Studies: The Case of Simone de Beauvoir.

Quotes Link:

The Second Sex Quotes by Simone de Beauvoir (goodreads.com) 

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