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Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Simone de Beauvoir on Feminism and Existentialism

    

Simone de Beauvoir on Feminism and Existentialism

Simone de Beauvoir was an extremely influential philosopher and feminist that roamed this earth not too long ago.  De Beauvoir was a woman of many talents.  She was a writer, feminist, philosopher, and teacher, just to name a few.  De Beauvoir was born January 9, 1908 in Paris, France.  She was fortunate enough to live nearly 80 years when she passed away on April, 14 1986 also in Paris, France.  Her years on this earth were well spent.  She brought attention to many different issues that were of concern in the 1900’s.  She especially focused on feminism and existentialism.  When you think of famous and iconic philosophers, the name Simone de Beauvoir most likely does not come to mind, but her work forever changed the way the world sees women and their place in society.  She also focused greatly on the concept of existentialism with her lifelong partner, Jean-Paul Sartre.  



      These two met when they were young and found that their beliefs on life aligned quite nicely.  They focused on the ideas of free will, rights, responsibilities, and desires.  All of these concepts came to be known as existentialism,  an arguably newer and more radical branch of philosophy.  The Christian faith believed that each human was placed on this earth with a predestined plan, but de Beauvoir and Sartre proposed a different theory.  They thought that everyone was born with free will.  It was thought that nobody had a certain plan they were designed to follow; they could do as they pleased.  She argued that this notion of free will was not as desirable as one would think.  Possessing free will enables a person to make choices that may harm themselves and others. While studying this ideology, de Beauvoir began to think about her own life’s meaning and how her free will was being compromised as a result of gender inequality.  She noticed how she, and other women, were unable to pursue certain aspects of life as they were repressed by men and society alike.  She combatted one societal expectation by never marrying.  Not only did she refuse to marry, but she had love interests with other women. 

Existentialism — a pragmatic world view | by Brennan Stark | Medium


     De Beauvoir felt so strongly about the idea of feminism that she decided to share her thoughts with the world, thus she published many novels regarding female culture and existentialism.  Her arguably most famous book, The Second Sex is so highly valued that it is sometimes referred to as the feminist's Bible.  This book’s main argument is that men oppress women by characterizing them.  She refers to women as the “other” throughout the novel, this alludes to the thought that men are the main subject, and women are objects--the other.  One of de Beauvoir’s most famous quotes states that, “one is not born, but rather becomes a woman”. This assertion speaks volumes to how sexist society can be; women are forced to fit into certain expectations and criteria that men believe they should attain. Femininity is something that is learned as women grow up in order for men to remain the dominant sex. She found that nearly every aspect of a woman's life is designed in order to appease men. They must eat a certain way to maintain a small and dainty figure, wear makeup to look presentable, and dress in a way that engages a man, but not so much so that they are considered slutty. In The Second Sex, de Beauvoir argues that there are three main reasons that women have inherently become so inferior to men. Society forces them to fulfill a man's needs even if this compromises their own and seek validation from men to gauge their worth. She also notes that historically, women have had less political influence than men which impacted how they were ranked in society.  

"Humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but in relation to himself." - Simone de Beauvoir

    In 2006, a movement known as the #Metoo movement came to life thanks to Tarana Burke, a social activist. It was not until late 2017 that it became mainstream.  This was created as a way for women to share their sexual harassment and abuse stories as a way to spread awareness and gain the attention of society.  In 2017, actresses in Hollywood caught wind of what Burke had started and decided their voices deserved to be heard as well.  These women shared the horrific realities of the sexual abuse occurring in the film industry.  This sparked a worldwide movement.  These actresses helped to get this movement on the front page.  Millions of women across the globe began posting their own experiences with sexual abuse.  If Simone de Beauvoir was alive today, I think she would be both pleased and disappointed with this movement.  She would be happy to see how far women have come in every aspect of life.  The fact that they can openly discuss their trauma, and defy men is something worth mentioning.  However, at the same time, she would be sad to see that women, even decades after her death, are still being oppressed and treated as the second sex.  She once said that, "if you live long enough, you'll see that every victory turns into defeat."  Although a bit dreary and negative, she emphasizes the fact that humans are creatures of habit and will eventually revert back to their old ways at some point.  However, I still believe that she would be pleased to see the progress females have made in a man's world. 






Works Cited 






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1 comment:

  1. "When you think of famous and iconic philosophers, the name Simone de Beauvoir most likely does not come to mind" -- depends on who you ask. Her star has been rising steadily for some time, she's definitely famous and iconic among existentialist and feminist philosophers.

    "reasons that women have inherently become so inferior to men" -- not inherently, and not actually. Women's status had in her day been constructed and contrived as dependent and (in that way) inferior. Her point was that they, and we, are free to deconstruct that status.

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