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Pauline Van etc.'s Reviews > Le deuxième sexe, Tome II
Le deuxième sexe, Tome II
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The second part of Simone de Beauvoir’s essay on feminism was one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read. Every time I sat down to read it, I stumbled upon amazing parts that really made me reflect on my own experience as well as on other women I know.
De Beauvoir extensively goes through the life experiences of women from childhood until old age. She uses a lot of testimonies from women (eg. diaries, letters, autobiographies, notes from psychologists treating them) and I enjoyed those a lot since the first tome of her essay gives little voice to them.
The first two parts present the formation of young women and the situation of the married or adult women. De Beauvoir illustrates how girls and women are alienated at different stages of their life, supposedly for their own good, and how unstable, unhappy, and sometimes even cruel, it can lead them to be. The third part of the book focuses on the justifications that narcissistic women, women in love and mystical women have for being voluntarily subservient to men. They all believe they have created freedom for themselves individually, however they end up producing inauthentic relationships in each case. The fourth and last part of the book analyses the early liberation of women at the time of her writing the book (in the 1940s). De Beauvoir explains the limitations of women intellectuals and artists who need to fight so hard to be recognized as human beings, which gives them little time to be creators.
In her conclusion, she rebukes the anti-feminist thesis that true equality would somehow ruin relationships as well as beauty, seduction, love, etc. De Beauvoir also briefly suggests that the myth of virility is as detrimental for men as the myth of femininity is for women, which resonates with the current debate about toxic masculinity. For De Beauvoir, the liberation of women can only be collective; and achieving financial independence should be the first step. Women also need to learn to consider themselves as real subjects who can have a positive effect on the world. Offering a similar education to girls and boys is a crucial step to achieve that equality.
Le Deuxième Sexe was an amazing essay with rich analysis, despite the repetitions and length of the two books. It is definitely a work that everybody should read, or at least study some sections as part of a curriculum at school.
De Beauvoir extensively goes through the life experiences of women from childhood until old age. She uses a lot of testimonies from women (eg. diaries, letters, autobiographies, notes from psychologists treating them) and I enjoyed those a lot since the first tome of her essay gives little voice to them.
The first two parts present the formation of young women and the situation of the married or adult women. De Beauvoir illustrates how girls and women are alienated at different stages of their life, supposedly for their own good, and how unstable, unhappy, and sometimes even cruel, it can lead them to be. The third part of the book focuses on the justifications that narcissistic women, women in love and mystical women have for being voluntarily subservient to men. They all believe they have created freedom for themselves individually, however they end up producing inauthentic relationships in each case. The fourth and last part of the book analyses the early liberation of women at the time of her writing the book (in the 1940s). De Beauvoir explains the limitations of women intellectuals and artists who need to fight so hard to be recognized as human beings, which gives them little time to be creators.
In her conclusion, she rebukes the anti-feminist thesis that true equality would somehow ruin relationships as well as beauty, seduction, love, etc. De Beauvoir also briefly suggests that the myth of virility is as detrimental for men as the myth of femininity is for women, which resonates with the current debate about toxic masculinity. For De Beauvoir, the liberation of women can only be collective; and achieving financial independence should be the first step. Women also need to learn to consider themselves as real subjects who can have a positive effect on the world. Offering a similar education to girls and boys is a crucial step to achieve that equality.
Le Deuxième Sexe was an amazing essay with rich analysis, despite the repetitions and length of the two books. It is definitely a work that everybody should read, or at least study some sections as part of a curriculum at school.
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