Second Sex and the 20th Century Feminist Movement

Many books were published during the second wave of feminism in the UnitedStates. The Mysteries of Women ("Mysteries of Women"),"Gender Politics" ("Sex Politics") and "The Dialecticsof Sex" ("The Dialectics of Sex"). Bestsellers appear oneafter another, and each work is being explored. How certain customs, laws,and centuries-old ideologies collectively contributed to the phenomenon thatoccurred in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s: labor and status variedby gender, women concentrated in low-paying work areas, or Remuneratedvoluntary work, responsibility for household chores and childcare, is almostbeyond the reach of government departments, the upper and middle classes ofmost industrial and technical occupations, and it is only in these areas thatmen can copy materials and make coffee. About every ten years, publisherswill republish these works with a new introduction, which is recommended bycritics. However, once a reader tries to pick out a book, he will findit. The core positions of these works have now entered the mainstreamculture quite thoroughly, becoming self-evident propositions, while otherpositions have been amended by subsequent generations of feminists. Inshort, they all seem to be stuck in their time. Historian Stephanie Kunzwrote in his first reading of The Mysteries of Women as an adult: "Afterreading a few chapters, I started to find this book generally boring andoutdated. ". "I know this book's description of women's historyis too simple," she continued, noting that Betty Friedan (Betty Friedan,author of The Mysteries of Women) "summary of women seems too limited toher His own white middle-class experience. I think the book's prescriptions forimproving women's lives have nothing to do with working class and African-Americanwomen. "The quote above is from Kunz's" Weird Disorder: AmericanWomen and Women in the Early 1960s "Mystery of Strange" (a strangestir: the mystery of women and American women in the early 1960s), where shetalked about her negative impressions when she first read The Mysteries ofWomen. This means that if readers want to understand the classics offeminism, they may need to read (or write) a book that provides a historicalexplanation. A few years ago, in an interview, I asked Vivian Gonik, a writerwho was very active in the second wave of feminism, what she thinks of theseworks now. Gornik shrugged and said without regret, "Oh, these booksare almost unreadable now." "You know, it's like writing withtoo much gunpowder. It's not even work." However, Gonik wrote thatmillions of people read these works, saw the truth in them, and put them intoaction: They either march, change their lives, or both, and these actionscombine to bring society closer to the principle of equality. Whether it'sa work or not, these classic books played their part in the second wave offeminist movements.

Portrait of Beauvoir, painting: Carl Stevens

The author who invented the subject was neither a feminist nor anAmerican. In 1949, 41-year-old Simone de Beauvoir published The Second Sexin France. A few years later, the English translation of the book began tobe adopted by Friedan, Kate Millet, and Shulamite Jense. At the time ofwriting, Beauvoir, a socialist, did not realize that a political movementshould be launched specifically for women's rights. At that time, it was apeaceful period of feminism, and the radicalism representing women seemed to bea thing of the past, not a thing of the future. In the early 20th century,French women gained more educational opportunities: They can take theFrench high school teacher qualification exam and teach at theuniversity. Beauvoir is the ninth woman in philosophy who passed theexam. After her, the number of women passing the exam has been increasing. In1944 women had the right to vote. The momentum is veryencouraging. However, philosopher Beauvoir was troubled by someproblems. In her introduction to "Second Sex", she said,"In the case of women, although she exists freely and autonomously likeeveryone else, in the real world, she is forced to replace others by men."Beauvoir cited another philosophical concept with a long history. Thisconcept was developed by Hegel and Husserl. At the time, her partner JeanPaul Sartre made it clear. The other is a kind of consciousness outsidethe self. Painful discovery of others is essential to completeself-composition. In encounters with others, various accidents mayoccur. Beauvoir's first novel, The Uninvited Guest (1943), explores theexistence of another person in a love triangle that ends in murder. Sartrein `` Being and Nothingness '' (1943) and the screenplay `` Interval'' The emphasis in (1944) is on the shame and helplessness of beingwatched by others' interpretation of themselves. Beauvoir discussed thisissue in social groups in Second Sex. The book's introduction states thatany two people from different backgrounds may be strange to each other, but ingeneral, both people know that they are strangers to eachother. "Strangeness" or "difference" is or should be areciprocal concept. Beauvoir continued, however, that there may also begroups of strangers that are fixed in their society. Examples includeEuropean Jews, African Americans, and other well-known ethnic minorities whoare forever excluded from their social self-definition. The dominantmajority questioned and denied the minority's ego. Over time, this doubtwill even slowly enter into the consciousness of a few members, and then theywill become eternal others. Beauvoir considers women to be another type ofother. Although she is not a minority anywhere, women in Western societiesare often considered to deviate from male standards, and this deviation has notmoved in a better direction. Women's demands on themselves are oftenquestioned and denied. Around this point, Beauvoir had a firm and in-depthdiscussion in The Second Sex. In her "Second Sex", Beauvoirshows how centuries of laws, customs, and myths have repeatedly expressed theview that women are not as good, real, or even humane compared to men. Shepoints out that in all areas of Western thought (she discussed biology,philosophy, psychoanalysis, literature, etc.) there is a history of patriarchyand a series of clearly visible blind spots. The most fascinating thing inthe book is how the dominant male culture influences women's inner life, asillustrated by Bovova's 500-page novel-like detailed description. Thisinfluence began in the initial stages of women's development, and even madewomen feel that they were not good enough or real enough. Beauvoirproceeded from the principle of existentialism, that is, everyone'sconsciousness seeks to project outward and act in this world, and believes thatthe human consciousness in the body of French women in the 20th century hasbeen restricted. Beginning with an attempt to project and act as a child,it has been squeezed into a consciousness that identifies with others ratherthan its own point of view and observes itself from theoutside. Beauvoir's view is very close to Du Bois' "dual consciousness". InBlack Soul (Black Soul), Du described it as "always seeing one's selfthrough the eyes of others". Black Soul was published 45 yearsago. Beauvoir's work is the first attempt to show how women are affectedby their low status and non-traditional consciousness. Visible blindspots. The most fascinating thing in the book is how the dominant maleculture influences women's inner life, as illustrated by Bovova's 500-pagenovel-like detailed description. This influence began in the initial stagesof women's development, and even made women feel that they were not good enoughor real enough. Beauvoir proceeded from the principle of existentialism,that is, everyone's consciousness seeks to project outward and act in thisworld, and believes that the human consciousness in the body of French women inthe 20th century has been restricted. Beginning with an attempt to projectand act as a child, it has been squeezed into a consciousness that identifieswith others rather than its own point of view and observes itself from theoutside. Beauvoir's view is very close to Du Bois' "dualconsciousness". In Black Soul (Black Soul), Du described it as"always seeing one's self through the eyes of others". BlackSoul was published 45 years ago. Beauvoir's work is the first attempt toshow how women are affected by their low status and non-traditionalconsciousness. Visible blind spots. The most fascinating thing in thebook is how the dominant male culture influences women's inner life, asillustrated by Bovova's 500-page novel-like detailed description. Thisinfluence began in the initial stages of women's development, and even madewomen feel that they were not good enough or real enough. Beauvoirproceeded from the principle of existentialism, that is, everyone's consciousnessseeks to project outward and act in this world, and believes that the humanconsciousness in the body of French women in the 20th century has beenrestricted. Beginning with an attempt to project and act as a child, ithas been squeezed into a consciousness that identifies with others rather thanits own point of view and observes itself from the outside. Beauvoir'sview is very close to Du Bois' "dual consciousness". In BlackSoul (Black Soul), Du described it as "always seeing one's self throughthe eyes of others". Black Soul was published 45 yearsago. Beauvoir's work is the first attempt to show how women are affectedby their low status and non-traditional consciousness.

Her profound philosophical, psychological and historical examination of women'sdifferences opens up a whole new way of thinking. With the emergence of"Second Sex", the theory and strategy of modern feminism wasborn. Beauvoir was born in a bourgeois family in Paris. He was sentto a convent school when he was young, and gradually grew interested in thestudy of philosophy as he grew up. After seeing a picture of LeontinaZanta in a magazine, her ambitions were encouraged. Zanta was the firstFrench woman to obtain a PhD in philosophy. In "Second Sex"(1954 "A Memories of a Filial Son"), she recalled that Zanta in thephoto "was sitting at the desk with a serious attitude and a pensiveface". Beauvoir is an excellent student, but she has a hard timegetting along with her parents in Paris's narrow social circle ("evenpretending to smile is hard for me"), and she has no inheritance. Herparents reluctantly accepted her ambition. At that time, Paris NormalUniversity, the most prestigious school, was not open to women, so Beauvoir hadto study mathematics and literature at two other universities, prepare for theentrance exam at Sorbonne, and finally began to study philosophy at thisuniversity. In Sorbonne, she joined a study group that included PaulNigel, who later became a novelist, Ren