The Second Sex Simone De Beauvoir Analysis

This essay aims to critically discuss and evaluate the significance of Simone De Beauvoir’s work and the relevance of her book ‘the Second Sex’ and how women are seen as the second sex in society. The essay will explore Beauvoir’s early life and what influenced her to write ‘the second sex’ (1999). The essay will briefly explain what is feminism, along with how her work has impacted on and influence women in society and how her work is relevant in contemporary society along with some limitations and criticisms for her book ‘the second sex’ (1999).

Feminism is a political and social movement. Feminists argue that women are living in a patriarchal society that is a society where men dominate mainstream values. They also argued that women are

Beauvoir came from a family that would be described today as upper middle class and was very privileged while growing up. The Second Sex (1999) was written from Beauvoir’s own experiences and her own reflections of how she sees and understand the expectations of women along with how women were viewed not only by men but also by society. Beauvoir did not follow in the path of anyone else and there was no previous work of other authors who has influenced her writing for the second sex. At the time in which ‘the Second Sex’ (1999) was published there was no other work to compare it with only from the experiences that women faced in society at the time. The second sex (1999) looks at the social and historical development of women’s situation and explores the way in which women were treated and perceived in

They are seen as a reproductive function to society as child bearers and should stay home and take care of the children a long with performing household duties. However, in the second sex (1999) Beauvoir argued that women should not be seen only for reproductive purposes. She further argued that women could still have children and also has access to jobs and paid employment. In her book she described women as ‘the other’ in which she argued that women is the object and men is the subject that is the role of the self. The other also refers to the female secondary position in society. She also compared the female situation and experiences to that of slavery which suggest that women had little to no rights in society. However, when Beauvoir compared women experiences in society to slavery she fail to distinguish between the two different ideologies that were mentioned. Slavery was about racist ideologies where as women’s experiences is about sexist ideologies. (M. Simons, 1999).

Simons (1999) argued that Beauvoir’s comparison of racism and slavery with women’s oppression is based on her description of women’s lives. The second sex (1999) was written based on Beauvoir’s own experiences and how she understands and view women’s oppression. Also at the time at which Beauvoir was writing there was a view that society develops as a result of only male innovation and production, that view is not as important today as