The Second Sex — Simone de Beauvoir
Gurinder Purewal
Introduction
Simone de Beauvoir ([1949] 2005) crafted a fundamental text in feminist philosophy, which aimed to explore why the statement “I am a women” instantly defined her existence. Beauvoir lived at a time where women’s rights were severely infringed upon, as female representation was nonexistent, and both abortion rights and birth control were decades away from becoming legal. Her partnership with Jean-Paul Sartre and her intellectual goals further developed her comprehension of what the female experience and freedom meant. It is important to reflect on the revolutionary insights put forth by Beauvoir and how these claims have grown and evolved since then, as she explored women’s roles, struggles, and desires to pursue true equality and self-determination (Beauvoir [1949] 2005).
Reading
Access the reading via the Marxists Internet Archive: The Second Sex (de Beauvoir [1949] 2005)
Discussion Questions
Gender Identity and Self-Definition
Simone de Beauvoir discusses how the “I am a woman” defines her.
- How do you think this personal self-definition of Beauvoir relates to her overarching philosophical claims about the construction of gender identity?
Contradictions in The Second Sex
Throughout the text, several contradictory claims are noticed within Simon de Beauvoir’s philosophy.
- What are some of these key contradictions? How do these contradictions influence the interpretation of Beauvoir’s ideas on freedom and gender?
Feminist Legacy
Reflect on Beauvoir’s following claim: “One is not born, but rather becomes, women.”
- How has this idea been either supported or challenged within Beauvoir’s work and the larger field of gender equality and women’s rights?
Bibliography
de Beauvoir, Simone. (1949) 2005. The Second Sex. Translated by H. M. Parshley and proofread by Andy Blunden. Marxists Internet Archive. https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/2nd-sex/introduction.htm.
How to Cite This Page
Purewal, Gurinder. 2024. “The Second Sex — Simone de Beauvoir.” In Great Thinkers, edited by Gurinder Purewal and Jenna Woodrow. Kamloops, BC: TRU Open Press. https://greatthinkers.pressbooks.tru.ca/chapter/the-second-sex-de-beauvoir/.
