Book #4: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

What a better time in history to read a feminist text than now? In a few short months, we may have our first female president and more women are taking charge in fields across the board. Gilmore Girls itself could be considered a feminist text, although not to the same extent as The Second Sex which has been coined “The Feminist Bible.” I have had some experience reading feminist texts and even took a Women’s History course in college in which I had tor read The Feminine Mystique. Although this book was not my specific cup of tea (it was eight hundred something pages long with no plot), I can appreciate it as an important historical text and one that paved the way for the feminist movement.

What does it mean to be a feminist?

The topic of feminism and being a feminist can cause quite a controversy. In the media, there are celebrities calling each other out left and right for not living up to the feminist name Because they have different ideas of what feminism is, they may disagree with each other. Oftentimes, I find these arguments trivia;. If someone is willing to call themselves a feminist and believes in the equality of the genders, why would someone propel a conflict that only causes more of a problem? After all, aren’t we working towards getting along?  Merriam Webster defines feminism as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” Therefore, feminism doesn’t have to be the bra burning, non shaving stereotype. Feminism is believing that women and men are equal in all regards. I am one to admit that men and women are not always treated equally in our modern world. I see it every day as a 24 year old woman in the workforce. There are certain ways people talk to me that would be different if I were a man.

Be a Free Woman

One of my favorite quotes from de Beuvior is “free women may refuse to be owned without wanting to renounce her yearning to be possessed. To me, this seems like a paradox. How can a free woman refuse to be owned yet still want to be possessed? As a free woman, you have to choice to do what

you want to do with your life and who you want to have in your life. A woman can still be free and have agency over their life but have that one person they allow to call them “theirs.” This compromise is a difficult one for both genders. How do you keep your individuality while building a life with someone? I’m not sure. I haven’t worked that out yet

A Broad Overview

Symone De Beuvior touches on various subjects throughout her eight hundred page book. Many of these subjects are still ones that are discussed today.

            -Why is it an insult to call someone a woman? People cringe when someone says “You run like a girl!” It automatically has a negative connotation when it should be a positive thing because us girls run fast!

            -Men are considered the taker while women are considered the taken. Why can’t       women be the takers? Or the pursuers in a relationship? If a woman comes onto a man, it is typically considered unattractive. This has changed slightly over the years, but not enough for this thought to   completely dissipate.

            - Woman as the Other. “The Other” is often the foreigner, the savage, and the unknown in literature. It is considered unnatural and inhuman in these stories. Women were considered the unknown, almost lesser creatures in de  Beuvoir’s time. Maybe men were just confused by women because we are so highly intelligent that they couldn’t understand.

            -Men want women pure, but not past a certain age. Men want women pure and untouched, but they also want her seen as desirable. To be desirable, they have to be touched by another man and interact with other men. However, the moment she is seen interacting with men, she is             considered a whore and is unwanted. It is a double standard that is still around today.

            -Marriage is the epitome of adulthood. Women are not fully considered an adult until they find a husband. Once a woman hits a certain age (her early twenties, directly after college), people pressure them to find a husband. If   they are single, people give you a pitiful loo

k and say your time will come someday. They do not treat men this way. They are expected to be single and play the field and if they are single in their twenties, people do not pity them.
It is frustrating because our lives are not defined by having a man.

As a young millennial woman, I felt like this was a beneficial text to read as it propelled self-reflection. It made me think of what it meant to be a woman. Many of the situations she talks about in her book are still prevalent in the 21^st century just in a different way. She was also very forward thinking for the 1940s. She wasn’t afraid to talk about touchy topics such as sex and female masturbation. Furthermore, she never married or had children of her own, yet her life seem fulfilled, something that was very rare in her time period.

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