Simone De Beauvoir's Beliefs On Women

Simone de Beauvoir was one of the most interesting philosophers I read while in this class. Most of her thoughts and beliefs are more aligned to be current today, which I think helps connect to readers. The term that would best define Beauvoir’s philosophy would be ambiguity, because of her stance on uncertainty. Her philosophy was centered on that you only solve by living and that there was not a disconnect from life and philosophy. Where I believe that I started to disagree or think that Beauvoir was off was in her beliefs on women. Beauvoir was consistent in her argument that women are subordinate to men and are often considered the second sex or “the other.” I think a lot of her argument for women could also be used for minorities in general.

Yes, men kind of joke about not understanding women, but it is only for humor. She states that, “they do nothing, they do not make themselves be anything; they wonder indefinitely what they could have become, which leads them to wonder what they are…” There are plenty of women who have made names for themselves and have tried to do things. I also found it ironic that Beauvoir says that she is for freedom but yet she defines women by these characteristics which could be argued not true. She states that these are not defined by hormones but rather by their situations. This helps her argument of characteristics. However I believe there are many who argue that have made themselves out to be successful out of their situations and have not let it define them. I understand what she is doing, which she is using mystery to describe woman, or as the “other.” She believes that men use this as a reason not to help them because men simply do not understand woman. She uses the logic that when men describe themselves, men do not say, I am a man, because it is just assumed. But, if a women wants to describe herself, she must say that she is a

She believes that women have not done enough to make themselves something, they wonder what they could have become. She also in her work describes her severe judgement of woman’s character: lacking in a sense of fact and accuracy, passive, without a grasp of reality, a believer in intuitions, and servile – lacking in real pride. I believe that she is a little too off on her descriptions, however she does believe that women need to change their economic dependence on men. From a historical perspective, this has been a major contribution for women’s rights being limited. Women did not have access to education nor jobs let alone careers. In the US, a major game changer has been the development of the birth control pill. This movement has allowed women to have more freedoms, and more control over their body and sex. Beauvoir has really hit the key that women have gained the right to vote, and their bodies but women need that extra push in economic