Beauvoir’s theory of woman as “Other” can be inferred two different ways. First, that women are inferior, second class citizens. Second, that though considered inferior, men need women. Both seemingly true throughout Beauvoir’s work. Still today, Beauvoir’s theory of woman as Other is illuminated in many instances here in America, on both governmental and social levels. There is an ongoing ‘War on Women’ which involves unequal rights for military women, governmental control of women’s rights to their bodies, and current “Rape Culture”, along with little feminist support that perpetuate the Otherness of women.
No person chooses to be known as the Other, the Other is classified as such by the One. As Beauvoir said, “one is not born, but rather becomes woman.” By this she may be saying that what today’s society
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However, according to a poll taken by Huffington Post only 23% of the women who were polled considered themselves feminist, yet the majority claimed to want equality (Swanson). Beauvoir would say this is because “women lack concrete means for organizing themselves into a unit which can stand face to face with the correlative unit” (Beauvoir).
There are many possible reasons as to why only a quarter of women claimed to be feminist. One reason being the extremist feminists whose attempts at change are sometimes followed by ridicule, with movements such as the “free the nipple” campaign that give little weight to discussing serious issues about women’s rights. Beauvoir states that “we should consider the arguments of the feminists with no less suspicion…for very often their controversial aim deprives them of all real value” (Beauvoir). This could be another reason for some women not wanting to claim to be