Simone de Beauvoir Gender Equality

While men and women are born equal, socially constructed myths dictate otherwise. French novelist Simone de Beauvoir explores the social hierarchy between the sexes in The Second Sex. De Beauvoir claims that women do not collectively self-identify as a group to take back power from men due to oppressive societal implications and economic limitations. As a well-educated French philosopher and existentialist, Simone de Beauvoir addresses the treatment of women and their righteousness. She explores the reasoning behind women’s subordinate role in comparison to men, claiming that this is because they are submissive.

In her perspective, societal implications were uncalled for but occurred naturally as men asserted their dominance, characterizing women as the inessential. Women are seen as incomplete since they do not acquire biological traits that men do, which makes them less of a being in a world monopolized by men (5).

For one group to feel powerful, there has to be a weaker foe in comparison. In the patriarchal society, a women’s standing as the other has been predetermined for her, as the preconceived notion remains unchallenged, constituting as the universal truth (10).

De Beauvoir finds this idea irritating, as she examines the case of ethnic minorities in comparison to female status in society. She understands the role of the majority over the minority, yet, she finds the unfair treatment of women unjustified since women and men are equal by numerical means since there are just as many men as there are women in this world Zhu 2 (7). There was no point in history where women had to classify as a minority group; therefore they have never self-identified as a collective since their biology is a given rather than a later noticed difference.

Get quality help now

writer-Charlotte

Verified

Proficient in: Gender

4.7 (348)

“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Similarly, because of women’s acquiescent role, they are restrained from dissent since an economic comfort zone bounds them.

Even though women work the same jobs as men, they are poorly paid solely based on gender and are therefore unable to emancipate themselves. Being economically dependent on men, a woman risks many of her assets if she protests against the universal truth dictated by her superior. After all, it is considered “out-of-character” if a woman is powerful and makes as much money as men. In turn, men suppress any possibility of having female competition, giving them low wages for the same amount of work to restrain their freedom. As de Beauvoir states, “they can hardly be blamed for not wanting to light-heartedly sacrifice all the benefits they derive from the myth: they know what they lose by relinquishing the woman of their dreams, but they do not know what the woman of tomorrow will bring them” (14). Since women never had a prototype to contest the unknown for them, for they do not know the consequences, exposing why they value comfort over change. In some cases, women derive satisfaction from being the subordinate due to comfortability provided by the authority, which is another reason why they prefer the status quo (10).

However, if women never discover the necessity to bring enlightenment amongst themselves and transform, then the rigid mold of gender stereotypes will never break (7). De Beauvoir emphasizes the difficulty in breaking stigmas and liberating all preconceived notions as women disperse themselves amongst society, rather than unifying as a collective. Zhu 3 Since de Beauvoir is an existentialist, the belief of autonomy plays an influential role in her writing, as she emphasizes the importance of self-determination to challenge women’s status in a patriarchal hierarchy. The claim she made is important because de Beauvoir attempts to explain the reasoning for women’s place in society, and the need to change. De Beauvoir recognizes the obstacle of interrogating a long-standing custom. Respect for women is an arduous concept to be grasped by all, thereby provoking deeply manifested ideals (9). The allegations of men to label women as the subordinate further supports the author’s contention that men fundamentally oppresses women by characterizing them, as women remain obedient. De Beauvoir accounts for the harsh reality as women accept the alterity, calling for a unified group to fight back.

Her goal was to justify that women are not born with a feminine label, but are affected by the society in every way that objectifies their existence in their behalves. Society constructs myths and stereotypes to condition females into objects and deprives them of their individuality. This way, even the man with the lowest class will still feel security within their insecurities, since the caste system dictates their eternal superiority over the other sex (13). This is undoubtedly unfair, but the way society has been constructed manifests its mandates. On the other hand, de Beauvoir claims that “Women’s actions have never been more than symbolic agitation; they have only won what men have been willing to concede to them; they have taken nothing they have received.” Additionally, she asserts that the solidarity of women is a critical factor in preventing them from building communities and forming dissenting opinions against men. De Beauvoir argues that this is exacerbated by the fact that there was no point in history where women formed as a group to overpower and protest against men (8).

However, women did create a group to reclaim their deserved rights in the 1920 women’s suffrage Zhu 4 movement. Women have taken something, they have taken back their constitutional rights. They have not received; they have fought. Men unwillingly gave up their rights because women formed as a collective voice to protest and acquire their legal rights, in the case of the nineteenth amendment. During this time, women established the first women’s rights convention in the U.S known as the Seneca Falls Convention. At the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other organizers call for the suffrage of women as their inalienable right. Therefore, the feminist movement has not been merely a symbolic upheaval it has been a legitimate battle for centuries extending on to the present day. Thus, the question regarding equality of the sexes has been debated about for centuries, with gradual progression. De Beauvoir explores the reality of women as a consequence of societal stereotypes and economic impediments. She also emphasizes the courage that women ought to grant themselves to form an alliance against oppression. De Beauvoir voiced her opinion and propelled the second wave of feminism in the 1960s, and as a result, numerous feminist movements were carried out subsequently, and progress has been made as women combat gender stigmas in modern society.

.