Extracts From: The Second Sex

by Simone de Beauvoir

Vintage Feminism: classic feminist texts in short form





When this book was first published in 1949 it was to outrage and scandal. Never before had the case for female liberty been so forcefully and successfully argued. De Beauvoir’s belief that ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’ switched on light bulbs in the heads of a generation of women and began a fight for greater equality and economic independence. These pages contain the key passages of the book that changed perceptions of women forever.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Classics, France, Essays, School

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Works of Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, existentialist, and feminist, include The Second Sex in 1949 and The Coming of Age , a study in 1970 of views of different cultures on the old.


Simone de Beauvoir, an author and philosopher, wrote novels, monographs, political and social issues, essays, biographies, and an autobiography. People now best know She Came to Stay and The Mandarins , her metaphysical novels. Her treatise, a foundational contemporary tract, of 1949 detailed analysis of oppression of women.

Reviews

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Independent Woman is a tiny book, approximately 100 pages and with dimensions about half those of a standard trade paperback; it includes "extracts" from The Second Sex, namely the introduction, a chapter entitled "The Independent Woman," and the conclusion. You can hardly blame Vintage for wanting to contribute to the tiny feminist book craze, and upon reflection it's kind of surprising that they haven't thought of doing this before, given what an intimidating behemoth The Second Sex is. But it's precisely the fact that this is a tiny excerpt of a much larger work that makes it impossible to review. It made some arguments I thought were excellent and some I thought were ridiculous, but how do I know she doesn't address my criticisms in some other part of The Second Sex? The Independent Woman mostly just made me realize I should try to get to the complete work. Maybe that was its true intention all along? Well, if that's the case, I'll add that the writing was awkward enough that it made me wonder if I should try the older, disdained H.M. Parshley translation rather than the newer Borde/Malovany-Chevallier translation. If anyone has an opinion on this, please weigh in! I have copies of both translations. What's that you're asking? I own two copies of The Second Sex but still paid money for this small extract? Well yeah. I mean, am I a book lover or aren't I?

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Simone de Beauvoir in 2021 brings up mixed feelings: on one hand you find yourself agreeing with a lot of what she wrote back then and being frustrated that in some aspects the needle has moved very little if at all; in other ways you reflect on how Simone was herself a product of her time and how that context influenced her views. It is still sadly true that the world is largely run by men and interesting to reflect in the historical and philosophical ways in which we have created this divide between men and women almost as two factions in conflict and of fundamentally different natures. It is also interesting to reflect, in the light of what we now know about men's mental health and male suicide rates, how the old system did not only do a disservice to women but to men themselves: the first denied the ability to imagine themselves outside the home, the second having to deal with the internal and external pressures of being a provider, the sole breadwinner, without being able to share the load or any feelings. Much of that has changed, most women now work, even if they still do a majority of house work and caring responsibilities. Where Simone shows her biases (beyond the obvious ones of lacking intersectional points of view and only representing straight white women of a certain class) is on what she sees as a desirable state for womanhood: she despairs at women who still talk about men in her free time, at female writers who write about love and family instead of concerning themselves with more worthy subjects of the essence of being, or politics, or war. It is here that, as someone in the world built by men, Simone shows herself incapable of imagining that our notions of what quality is, what is worth writing about, were created by that same group and to represent the full extent of human experience is to change those notions too. The old adage of "women write about family, men write about war" to me means not that women cannot write about war - there are many that do - but that we should also consider family a worthy subject to write about.
Nevertheless, this book is definitely a classic of feminist literature and thinking, and well worth a read. I'm not sure I would have managed the full Le Deuxième Sexe in French - maybe for that I'll pick up the translation.

[Jahnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Introduction: I found the 27-paged Introduction too long, and quite difficult to read and understand. To me, the main points were of Woman as a human being, of Woman being the object but not the subject, and of Woman being the other.

2. The Independent Woman: This excerpt from The Second Sex is interesting. I enjoyed reading it. The context in this selection is more of a criticism against Woman rather than a defense of her being. It is interesting that through this criticism, Woman is prompted to remake Woman: to remake Woman, Woman must remake what is in herself. Woman is encouraged to transcend from her inferiority complex, and from the makings of her that were imposed on her by her history, her society, her self.

Most of the scenarios in this selection are out-of-date against this generation, proving that we have come a long way since Simone de Beauvoir's time. (I hope she's a bit pleased.) But it is interesting to note still that Woman is still in the process of transcending from her being, and this is the part where a lot of Beauvoir's criticisms can still apply.

3. Conclusion: I like that Simone de Beauvoir does not demean Man to uplift Woman. I like that when she encourages for equality, she also means that equality does not negate or disqualify the differences between Man and Woman, it only encourages that both Man and Woman be given equal opportunities and that they both be peers.

[Elo · Rating 4 out of 5]

c'était intéressant à lire comme 'introduction' car elle approfondit largement ses pensées, ses théories dans ses œuvres complètes. mais je trouve ça bien pour commencer dans les lectures féministes """anciennes"""".

[Jeanne Pitois]

Pourquoi ?
Est-ce que je sens de l’arrogance dans son discours ? Est-ce de la condescendance ? Est-ce parce qu’elle s’attribut trop de mérite dans la connaissance de « la femme » ? Parce que oui Simone tu en es une aussi, ça manque de sentiment d’appartenance à un groupe ton discours.
Ou serait-ce parce que pendant que je lisais j’ai appris que Simone de Beauvoir et son très cher Sartre avaient des morales des plus douteuses en ce qui concerne les MINEURS ? Ici ça sépare très difficilement l’œuvre de l’artiste.
Je ne sais pas exactement pourquoi, mais ce livre m’a énervé plus qu’il ne m’a fait prendre conscience de tout ce qu’engendre le simple fait de naître Femme.

La conclusion est pas mal

[signe]

Felt very superior and intellectual while reading even though i only understood like half of it

[Kasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it overly reductive and essentialist. I can imagine it being important in its time, but it didn’t really feel worth it to read when there is better contemporary writing that is intersectional with a deeper understanding of gender and class.

[Emilie Dyvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

hyper intéressant mais un peu long, et simone dose un peu dans tes paroles tu pars un peu loin des fois

[jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

every woman should read this. super thought provoking and makes u reflect on the tenets of your own beliefs and behaviours

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite insightful. It really put the idea of double consciousness in another light and I thought she made some great points. Very easy to understand too.

[Jam Pilarca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girl today can certainly go out alone, stroll in the Tuileries; but I have already said how hostile the street is: eyes everywhere, hands waiting: if she wanders absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere, if she lights a cigarette in a cafe, if she goes to the cinema alone, an unpleasant incident can quickly occur; she must inspire respect by the way she dresses and behaves: this concern rivets her to the ground and self. "Her wings are clipped."

By no means was this an easy read. At 100~ pages, I picked this up to serve as a warm up to The Second Sex but it still took me a few weeks to finish. The writing used very sophisticated language and had a few dozen references to books and people I’ve yet to explore. That said, it blows my mind that this was published in the 40’s. Much of women’s plight that de Beauvoir wrote about then are still very much relevant today and she goes into why women aren’t necessarily free (at least not completely) today. Not sure if I have it in me to read the full version just yet but this was definitely an enriching read.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book contains excerpts from The Second Sex, widely considered to be the starting point of second wave feminism. This book contains the introduction from the first volume, conclusion from the second volume and the chapter titled The Independent Woman. I found it much more difficult to read than I had expected; I'm not sure if this is because it isn't a very good translation, or if it's because academic texts tend to be almost deliberately hard work to read.

The Second Sex obviously had a big influence on feminism, especially de Beauvoir's writings about the Othering of women and the social construction of gender ("one is not born, but rather becomes, woman"). However, her writings are very much a product of their time and in many ways look very out of date now. For example, lot of what she writes in The Independent Woman chapter comes across as blatantly misogynistic.

[Free ARC from NetGalley]

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai acheté ce livre pour me familiariser avec Le Deuxième Sexe et décider de si je le lisais dans son intégralité ou non. La Femme Indépendante contient en effet 3 chapitres du Deuxième Sexe: l'introduction, la conclusion, et le chapitre La Femme Indépendante. Mission accomplie car suite à cette lecture, j'ai acheté les deux tomes du Deuxième Sexe. La définition de la femme comme altérité m'a énormément intéressée car je pense qu'elle est encore présente dans les mentalités de certaines personnes. J'ai été touchée aussi par le chapitre sur l'autolimitation scolaire féminine, ou comment les préjugés sur la réussite féminine limitent les femmes qui ne s'autorisent pas à réussir plus, sachant que "c'est déjà bien pour leur sexe". Ou comment je n'avais parfois pas le sentiment d'être légitime pour aller plus loin, enfant, parmi mes trois frères.

[Rachida]

Essai intelligent et toujours d'actualité!

[Beatrice Nitescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’était un livre très intéressant qui montre des idées du Deuxième sexe. Pourtant, c’est un peu complexe ce qui le fait une lecture assez difficile

[Viktor · Rating 3 out of 5]

apparement il s’agit seulement de quelques extraits du Deuxième Sexe donc faut qu’on lit l’œuvre complète pour obtenir l’ensemble du tableau

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! this was my first time reading De Beauvoir beyond just quotations or short excerpts. i really loved her voice, and was also impressed by the amount of references included throughout. it's impressive how many of her claims regarding male and female relationships, functions of oppression, and autonomy in sex, work, and art still hold up; this is certainly a testament to her insight. the downside of reading older feminist theory (this one specifically was originally published in 1949) is that it is entirely based in traditional gender binaries, and also does not address queerness other than as a brief example of marginalization or a psychological condition. however, i would argue that there's still merit in analyzing traditional masculine and feminine archetypes and roles. i would say go into this work keeping in mind the time period, as there are many references to current events that require reframing. i highly recommend this to anyone looking to get into feminist theory, and it is also provides good background, considering how many contemporary feminists reference De Beauvoir.

[ashiireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆☆☆☆☆

"The independent woman—and especially the intellectual who thinks through her situation—will suffer from an inferiority complex as a female;"

"For all those suffering from an inferiority complex, this is a miraculous liniment; no one is more arrogant toward woman, more aggressive or more disdainful, than a man anxious about his own virility."

[Maria Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Só pedrada

[Mallory Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but dense read. A reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. An exciting endeavor to finally read bits of the book that was so monumental to the feminist movement: The Second Sex.

“…men and women must, among other things and above and beyond their natural differentiations, unequivocally affirm their brotherhood.”

[Coline Dottin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ces quelques pages sont, je trouve, une très bonne introduction au Deuxième sexe. Le livre se découpant en deux très gros tomes de philosophie, ca donne accès à une version plus simple et courte (cet extrait compte l'introduction, le dernier chapitre du second tome, et la conclusion du deuxième sexe).
Il est vraiment intéressant déjà dans une perspective globale : 70 ans après la publication de ces livres, la situation est quasiment la même. Les sujets sont les mêmes et la position de la femme dans la société telle qu'observée par Simone de Beauvoir est la même, à l'exception faites de quelques droits (un peu importants) acquis en cours de route. La femme transformée et libérée selon de Beauvoir n'existe toujours pas, et nous nous en éloignons même à certains moments.
Il est aussi important et désagréable à lire dans le fait qu'au fur et à mesure, on se rend finalement compte que malgré tous les efforts faits, je ne suis encore qu'un cliché féminin affolant né d'une société patriarcale. C'est pas très agréable, mais en même temps, c'est toujours bien de le savoir.

Mais je ne peux pas être entièrement d'accord avec elle. Sur plusieurs sujets, malgré la pertinence de ses propos, elle est parfois très sévère envers la femme, qu'elle estime partiellement responsable de sa situation en l'acceptant et en se confortant dedans. Pour moi, tout ce qu'elle dit n'est pas forcément vrai, et je pense qu'il ne faut pas oublier que malgré tout, Simone de Beauvoir était une femme bourgeoise qui n'a résolument jamais ou presque jamais vécu comme les autres femmes de son époque - bourgeoise ou pas. Cela n'enlève rien à la pertinence de ses propos, mais il faut donc les mettre sous cette perspective, et juger les femmes un peu moins sévèrement qu'elle le fait. Ses propos m'ayant le plus gênés concernaient les femmes dans l'art. Dire qu'il n'existe pas de femmes de génie dans l'art parce qu'elles n'ont tout simplement pas la richesse d'expérience et la liberté d'esprit des hommes est, pour moi, une ineptie totale.
"...elle ne sera jamais qu'un amateur. Même si elle commence assez jeune, il est rare qu'elle envisage l'art comme un sérieux travail ; habituée à l'oisiveté, n'ayant jamais éprouvé dans sa vie l'austère effort soutenu et persévérant, elle ne s'astreindra pas à acquérir une solide technique..." elle évoque le fait que l'art fait par des femmes est généralement niais et qu'il ne faut pas compter sur elles pour explorer des chemins inédits. Par là, elle nie, par exemple, le travail de George Sand, qui écrivait pour survivre, et dont les héros et héroïnes étaient alors des sujets complètement inédits. Elle nie le fait que son oeuvre est riche et diverse, et loin du narcissisme dont elle accuse les femmes. Elle nie aussi la peinture de Berthe Morisot, jamais considérée comme femme peintre mais comme impressionniste au même titre que Manet, Renoir ou Degas. Imaginer qu'elle ait peint uniquement pour plaire c'est oublier que sa peinture et le mouvement dans laquelle elle est inscrite a été presque révolutionnaire pour l'époque, et que ses modèles sont des personnes que personne ne voulait peindre à l'époque. C'est oublier son agacement lorsqu'elle se rendait compte que sa peinture ressemblait à celle d'un autre, sa capacité à manier les couleurs...

Encore une fois, toute sa réflexion est vraiment intéressante et très pertinente, mais je ne peut pas être d'accord avec tout ce qu'elle dit et j'avais donc besoin de l'exprimer dans ce très long commentaire. Un gros bisous à vous.

[Ploni Almoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mens kvinder efter 2. verdenskrig langsomt begynder at få del i det politiske liv i Vesten, og i Sovjet ligefrem får adgang til den frie abort og økonomisk ligestilling, ja så sætter filosoffen Simone de Beauvoir sig for at skrive en filosofisk analyse, der virkelig skal frigøre kvinden, ikke blot juridisk, politisk og økonomisk men ontologisk: Le Deuxieme Sexe er født

folio har været så venlige at lave en pocket-udgave med tekststykker i uddrag fra det hovedværk, og de har været en fornøjelse at læse. Beauvoir afdækker, hvordan kvinde er noget man bliver, under mandens blik, og anviser vejen til en frihedskamp, hvor kvinder kan bevæge sig fra objekt til subjekt, fra menneske til creatrice.

"la femme est un produit élaboré par la civilisation ; l'intervention d'autrui dans sa destinée et originelle : si cette action était autrement dirigée eller aboutirait á un tout autre résultat. La femme n'est définie ni par ses hormones ni par de mystérieux instincts mas par la manière dont elle ressaisit, a travers les consciences étrangères, son corps et son rapport au monde : "

Analyserne er skarpe og selvom verden har ændret sig de sidste 70 år, er der forsat masser af relevant viden at hente. Ja, tænk hvis bare den højreradikale transfobi Matt Walsh kunne fransk, her er hans argumentation for det biologiske køns forrang i hvert fald rigeligt tilbagevist gennem klare ontologiske deduktioner.

Beauvoir bruger en del kræfter på at afmontere Freud og andre mandlige tænkeres idéer om kvindens psykologiske natur eller fremmede/mystiske essens-kvindelighed. Den giver hun ikke meget for, som hun skriver: "l'absence de pénis - compensée par la promesse de l'enfant - ne suffirait pas á engendrer un "complexe d'infériorité"" - kvindens stilling i samfundet er et produkt af dybtliggende samfundsmæssige strukturer (læs patriarkatet) og ikke af penisafsavn og psykologiske spidsfindigheder.

Det føles rart endelig at have fået læst i hvert fald nogle uddrag af det her feministiske hovedværk. Jeg ved ikke, om jeg kommer i gang med helheden på et tidspunkt. Men for nu vil jeg anbefale andre dovendidrikker at starte med La Femme indépendante. Jeg vælger at tro, at det vigtigste er samlet her.

[Wilhemina Wingates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cleverly assembled collection of three excerpts from Simone De Beauvoir's book: Le Deuxieme Sexe, adequately named : "la femme independante" for it is a reiteration of Beauvoir's perspective on the independant woman.

Beauvoir explores what it means to be an independent woman in her time and the significance, both psychological and social of the emancipation of a female.

She highlights most of all the role of a female's financial independence, and the effect that self-reliance would have on the female. From then on, Beauvoir delves deep into the inherent conditioning of male and female children and the role of this conditioning on their future lives. Most limitations for the woman, seem psychological, stemming from not only social but personal growth hindered by this conditioning. The man is raised to be self-sufficient, the woman is raised to be a mother and to value her place in a world belonging to men. Where she is the "other" and he is the main. This also shows in various aspects from a relationship between the sexes.

The man must learn to overcome his resentment and need to supply the female. The female must learn to transcend her barriers.

[rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

She has an interesting approach to feminism; not what I expected. She does not self-identify with the feminist agenda, but masterfully dissects the dependence of women and the contrast in standards that women are held to. Her comments on sexuality as an aspect of femininity are especially striking to me as a queer woman. Masochism, as she says, is a condition of womanhood and, alas, it is. In a world where the definition of independence is fighting for dominance, equality may never exist.
RR 2/25: Especially appreciated the contemplations of female greatness and ingenuity this time around, loved the discussion of the conditions that are available to men and that form their identity, which women are deprived of. Connects to the ideas of Pelletier without necessarily trying to make a woman conform to the male lifestyle.

[Elsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sans mentir, j’ai lu La femme indépendante, extrait Du deuxième sexe, car j’étais obligée de le faire pour le lycée. Je ne dirai pas que je n’ai pas aimé, car le sujet est sans aucun doute très intéressant, et j’ai appris de nombreuses choses. Je n’ai cependant pas réellement réussi à rentrer dedans, et tourner les pages est devenu douloureux au fur et à mesure. J’essaierai peut être de le relire quand je serai plus vieille, et probablement plus mature, pour pouvoir mieux comprendre tout l’enjeu de ce livre.

[vinnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is teeny tiny but it was a little perfect for someone who has never read any feminist lit such as myself! she argued her points well (mostly…) and it was really thought provoking. it felt like i was reading fiction because it was hard to put down at one point, it’s a little insane to me how much women have progressed since this was written but also the aspects in which we have either gone backwards or stayed the same in. a little scary. but i’m tempted to read the full thing if i have time. would 100% recommend! it’s an easier read than i thought it would be.

[Ida Hobler-Micherska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les paroles de Beauvoir publiées dans les années 40, sont malheureusement toujours identifiables. Même si la condition féminine a changé, la mentalité masculine reste la même dans beaucoup de cas. Néanmoins, le message de cette oeuvre est extrêmement important - au lieu de rivaliser les uns contre les autres, on devrait rendre notre univer humain uniforme.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Independent Woman is a brilliant introduction to Simone de Beauvoir's work. Her writings shaped modern feminist theory, and this book is such a palatable teaser to her broader ouevre. Bonus: the cover is gorgeously designed! A go-to gift for all your smart, badass, and beautiful friends 💗

[Maria A. Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written in 1949, Beauvoir’s arguments are still relevant and necessary for our society and for both men and women. It was not an easy book to read, but it was worth every word and minute. I can’t wait to devour The Second Sex!

[Axelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75☆
it had some amazing statements but also ones i didn't exactly agree with, which kinda makes sense since it was written in the '50s
I think there are better books on feminism out there
ALSOOO I loved the introduction by Natalie Haynes (I need to check out her other works)