Simone de Beauvoir’s 'The Second Sex' defined the feminist framework. It remains relevant today

Over 70 years after its publication, 'The Second Sex' still sheds light on the subjugation and subordination of women

Jan 9 is the birthday of French philosopher, writer, and social theorist Simone de Beauvoir.

Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex is one of the foundational texts of Western feminism and remains popular 70 years after its publication due to its dissection of the gender dichotomy in society. The concepts in the book have been heavily debated over the years, drawing both appreciation and criticism. 

Influenced by Hegel, Sartrean existentialism, Marxism, and psychoanalysis, The Second Sex indicts patriarchal culture and the notion that women are subordinate to men while arguing that the objectification of women spans human history and shapes all of Western intellectual thought. 

De Beauvoir argues that women have remained imprisoned within "immanence," remaining a slave within the circle of obligations imposed by the maternal and reproductive roles, while man has been able to transcend and control his surroundings, always advancing the sphere of his physical and intellectual victories. 

She draws on biblical passages and ancient myths to support her claim that women are viewed as the ‘other’, often portrayed as wicked or frail. Using literary evidence and the stories people tell about their own culture, de Beauvoir makes a strong case for the relationship between myth and history.

The book further illustrates how the "essence" of a woman was actually produced — at economic, social, political, and religious levels — by historical circumstances serving the interests of males in a distinctive existentialist manner while stressing this subordination. The famous quote from de Beauvoir, "One is not born, but rather becomes a woman," echoes this idea. 

Like any text which opposes social constructs and critiques grand narratives, de Beauvoir’s writing is not without its fair share of backlash. 

De Beauvoir's intellectual value and independence have long been acknowledged by philosophers and experts in French literature, but accounts of her biography have frequently overemphasised the time when she was a young adult and when she made her renowned romantic "pact" with Sartre. According to an article by Kate Kirkpatrick published in The Guardian, the two made the decision to have an open relationship in 1929. They claimed to be "essential" to one another while keeping "contingent" partners on the side. 

This aspect makes it particularly intriguing to reflect on her life and legacy. She was a woman who advocated that women's lives should not be reduced to erotic narratives, yet her life has consistently been treated as such. And she frequently upset people with her comments on feminism and her lack of attention to the male perspective. So if she was out of date, what was there to be outraged about?

Less focus has been placed on de Beauvoir's personal philosophy, both before and after meeting Sartre. In essence, de Beauvoir was a philosopher who advocated for women's freedom to choose for themselves. She argued that since people are "the sum of their actions," it would be comforting to assume that we all have a predetermined destiny and a certain reason behind why we exist. It would, however, be false. 

According to de Beauvoir, every human being is a being who develops naturally. She began to form this opinion in the late 1920s, years before she met Sartre. In the 1940s, by which time both she and Sartre had achieved fame in France, she started publishing articles regarding her philosophical differences with him, but many of her views were frequently attributed to him.

In 1949, de Beauvoir detractors labelled her as anti-feminist, anti-maternal, and anti-marriage. Although she believed that economic work benefited women, she also believed that marriage and motherhood had significance and that neither marriage nor motherhood could liberate women on their own.

Since The Second Sex publication in 1949, feminists have created new terms to describe the different types of weight that today's women are expected to shoulder as more women have entered the workforce. Beauvoir's viewpoint on this matter is still important. Her point was not that the job necessary to support life is unimportant or work that is creative or economically productive is intrinsically more significant than caring. According to her, financial independence is not a given for women; caring for others and receiving their care is an essential aspect of what makes us human, and without care and caring, humans struggle to survive. 

The strong woman knows that what she does deserves to be respected, but the independent woman doesn't believe that showing love entails going at it alone.

Insights such as this demonstrate how, over 70 years after its publication, the ideas in The Second Sex and the concepts discussed by de Beauvoir hold relevance to our contemporary reality.

This article was written for Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication with a focus on culture and society from a youth perspective.