Simone De Beauvoir: The Oppression Of Women
Simone de Beauvoir
Adam Taylor
Intro
During the late 19th and 20th century many advances were being taken in the equal rights movement for women. Many people philosophised why the oppression of women was so apparent, among these people were activists and writers like The Suffragettes, especially Emmeline Pankhurst in the late 1890’s, who focussed on the legal side of the movement. Then de Beauvoir and Betty Friedman in the 1950-60, who focussed on the expectation of women in society and their place in society. Both Friedman and de Beauvoir came to the conclusion that the oppression of women and the view of them as inferior was untrue and something started by men. de Beauvoir was the first person to completely challenge the norm set by men …show more content…
As an existentialist, de Beauvoir believed that existence precedes essence; for example, one is not born a woman, but becomes one. Her analysis focuses on the social construction of Woman as the quintessential Other. De Beauvoir identifies this as the fundamental reason as to why women are so oppressed. De Beauvoir argued that women are as capable of choice as men, and therefor can choose to raise themselves, moving beyond the immanence to which they were previously resigned and reaching 'transcendence', a position in which one takes responsibility for themselves and the world where one chooses one's …show more content…
She argued that men used this as an excuse not to understand women or their issues and then not help them, and that this stereotype of mystery was always done in societies by the group higher in the social hierarchy to the group lower in the social hierarchy. She wrote that a similar kind of oppression by hierarchy also happened in other categories of identity, such as race, class and religion, but she claimed that it was nowhere more true than with gender in which men stereotyped women and used it as an excuse to organize society into a patriarchy. Women who do not comply with the norm are looked down on in
Adam Taylor
Intro
During the late 19th and 20th century many advances were being taken in the equal rights movement for women. Many people philosophised why the oppression of women was so apparent, among these people were activists and writers like The Suffragettes, especially Emmeline Pankhurst in the late 1890’s, who focussed on the legal side of the movement. Then de Beauvoir and Betty Friedman in the 1950-60, who focussed on the expectation of women in society and their place in society. Both Friedman and de Beauvoir came to the conclusion that the oppression of women and the view of them as inferior was untrue and something started by men. de Beauvoir was the first person to completely challenge the norm set by men …show more content…
As an existentialist, de Beauvoir believed that existence precedes essence; for example, one is not born a woman, but becomes one. Her analysis focuses on the social construction of Woman as the quintessential Other. De Beauvoir identifies this as the fundamental reason as to why women are so oppressed. De Beauvoir argued that women are as capable of choice as men, and therefor can choose to raise themselves, moving beyond the immanence to which they were previously resigned and reaching 'transcendence', a position in which one takes responsibility for themselves and the world where one chooses one's …show more content…
She argued that men used this as an excuse not to understand women or their issues and then not help them, and that this stereotype of mystery was always done in societies by the group higher in the social hierarchy to the group lower in the social hierarchy. She wrote that a similar kind of oppression by hierarchy also happened in other categories of identity, such as race, class and religion, but she claimed that it was nowhere more true than with gender in which men stereotyped women and used it as an excuse to organize society into a patriarchy. Women who do not comply with the norm are looked down on in