De Beauvoir, S.

(1949) “Introduction” to The Second Sex

“Introducción” en El Segundo Sexo

1. What does de Beauvoir say about the biological definition of woman (“woman is
womb”)? (p1)

According to some, the requirement to be considered a woman is having a uterus. However,

others consider that this is not enough. According to Beauvoir, this group considers that there is a
difference between being a ‘female’ in the biological sense and a ‘woman’. So though female
individuals exist, they claim that ‘womanhood’ is in danger.

2. Why does she compare women to “the Jew, or the Negro”? (p1, and later)

Scientifically, the idea that there are certain infallible traits that determine if someone is a
woman, jewish person, or a black person has been discarded. However, though ‘femininity’ may
not be a fixed characteristic, Beauvoir considers that it is foolish to claim that there is no
difference between men and women, as each human being is a complete individual and different
to all the rest. This is the same with black people and jewish people.

3. What is the “eternal feminine”? (she is talking about this on p1, but does not mention
it explicitly until page 2, and then later on p8)

The eternal femenine is the idealized concept of a woman. Beauvoir suggests that some people
do not consider that it is not enough for an individual to function as a female, they must also be
in constant pursuit of this archetype. It also relates to the idea that ‘men’ and ‘women’ are
essentially different, and that they can never presume to be equals because they supposedly are
not meant to occupy the same role in human society.

4. What does she mean when she says man is positive and neutral, and women are only
negative? (p 2)

Beauvoir compares the relationship between the sexes as opposite poles. The man is the positive
and neutral charge because the word ‘man’ is so general, and is used to refer to all of humanity.
However, women are the negative charge because the term is used to designate only a specific
portion of humanity. Women are ‘defined by limiting criteria’. In other words, there are more
rules one must abide by to be considered a woman than there are to be considered a man. A
woman’s every action is attributed to her status as a woman, including thought process. Men are
considered to be right simply because they are men, and women are inherently mistaken because
they are women. Men are simply men, whereas women are ‘not-men’.

5. What does she say about the category of “other”? How has it been used? (p3)
This refers to the two designations of ‘self’ or the ‘one’ and ‘other’. The group that is referred to
as ‘other’ does not necessarily have to refer to women; there is always a category of people that
are not considered to be truly part of the core of a society. This includes but is not limited to
women. In terms of the duality of sexes, women are the ‘other’ because they are considered to be
mere extensions of men, an imperfect version of them, a relative being. The ‘other’ group is
dominated by turning it against itself with the suggestion that it is inherently flawed somehow
and therefore is not worthy to occupy the same place as the ‘self’.

6. What are the similarities and differences between women and the “proletarians”? (p4
-5) Why hasn’t there been a revolution by women? (p5)

Women are ‘others’ to men, just as proletarians are ‘others’ to the privileged. They are both
subject to the idea that they are somehow different from the ‘self’ group. The connection
between the two that Beauvoir mentions from Babel is that neither women nor the proletarians
have been ostracized from society as a minority. Their designation of as a class has been a
historical process which ‘accounts for the membership of particular individuals’. However, the
difference is that there have always been women, whereas there have not always been
proletarians. Women have been designated as ‘others’ to men simply because of their anatomy.
Therefore, their submission has not been a historical process, it is something that has always
been. It is impossible to find a point in history in which it was decided that women were inferior.
There has been no female revolution because women have not been able to draw together as a
collective and recognize that they themselves are class of others. Proletarians refer to themselves
as ‘we’, while women refer to themselves as ‘women’ because it is what men call them. In
Beauvoir’s own words, “They have gained only what men have been willing to grant; they have
taken nothing, they have only received.”

7. What aspects of society are drawn on by anti-feminists to “prove woman’s

inferiority”? (p7)

Religion, theology, philosophy, and more recently, sciences such as biology and experimental
psychology. Anti-feminists are willing, in the best of cases, to admit the ‘equality in difference’
between men and women, which Beauvoir compares to the Jim Crow laws that separated White
people from Black people. This is, however, simply an excuse to discriminate. They pander to
the idea of the eternal femenine and that there is a proper way to be a woman: submissive, frilly,
infantile, and irresponsible. Being kept in their place, which is beneath men and has been chosen
for them by men, is the supposedly correct way to be. They use the fact that women have
uteruses and are therefore ruled by their hormones and glands to limit them and their capacity,
but they don’t mention the fact that men also have glands and hormones. In other words, men
believe that their bodies are essentially the correct way to be, and that the only way to perceive
the world objectively is to have a male body. Women are defined by their relation to men, while
men are allowed to define themselves. It’s a vicious cycle because when an individual (or a
group of individuals) is kept in a situation of inferiority, the fact is that he is inferior.
 8. Why do many men “hope that [the view of women as the second sex] will continue”?
(p8-9)

Some members of the bourgeoisie see the liberation of women as a danger to their core values
and morality. Other men are afraid that women will create more competition if they are allowed
to occupy the same roles in society that they are. It also robs men of their ability to feel superior
to women simply because they are men. No matter how far they fall, they may comfort
themselves with the knowledge that they are not women. The bottom line is that men have an
inherent advantage in the world when women are kept submissive.

9. What does she say about happiness? (p11)

Happiness is not quantifiable, nor is it an indication of someone’s being better off than another.
There is a difference between happiness and private interest. It is easy, according to Beauvoir, to
force someone (or a particular group) into a stagnant situation and call them happy. In fact, being
‘at rest’ is considered a reason to be happy.

10. What does she say about liberty? (p11)

Liberty is only achieved through reaching for more liberties. Therefore, if a group is completely
submissive and not inclined to attempt to attain other liberties, they are not truly free. If it is a
consensual submission it demonstrates a moral flaw in those being dominated, and if it is forced,
then it is oppression.