“One is not born a woman, but becomes one.”
French existentialist and feminist philosopher,
Simone de Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex, in
1949 to investigate popular definitions of
femininity. She concluded that those definitions
had been used to suppress women, through the
ages.
For De Beauvoir, the views of individuals
are socially and culturally produced. Femininity
is not inherent – it is a construct that
has been learned through socialisation – to
keep men dominant.
De Beauvoir argued that women have historically
been treated as inferior – and secondary
– to men for three reasons. She explained
that society teaches women – one, to fulfill
a male’s needs and therefore exist in relation
to men – and two, to follow external cues
to seek validation of their worth. Her third
point was that females have historically had
far fewer legal rights, and therefore less
public influence.
De Beauvoir uses a comparison – saying that
a girl is ‘treated like a live doll’.
What did she mean?
A doll is a powerful means of identification.
Through it, the girl learns to identify with
the condition of being dressed up, made pretty
and preened over – whilst not having any
agency of her own. She learns to objectify
herself – just as men objectify women.
The doll is submissive – its role is to
be dressed up, listen to its owner’s secrets,
comfort her when she is lonely and lie at
home when she’s at school.
De Beauvoir argues that when the girl grows
up, she will find herself in the same situation
as her doll. As a woman, it will be her role
to attract a husband with her beauty, and
to maintain it to ensure he doesn’t stray,
to quietly listen to his problems, and wait
at home for him when he’s at work.
An accessory – be it plastic, or flesh and
blood.
De Beauvoir stated that even if a woman didn’t
marry, she would still be held to male standards
– through external pressures such as the
beauty, diet and fashion industries – which
are all complicit in perpetuating the objectification
of women.
To achieve liberation, De Beauvoir believed,
women must recognise many of these ‘social
norms’ as constructions. Only then will
they have the freedom to escape their context
and determine their own destiny.
Written against a backdrop of intense conservatism,
The Second Sex was published just five years
after French women had been granted the right
to vote, at a time when few women worked.
De Beauvoir’s argument that ‘one is not
born, but rather becomes a woman’ is still
valid today.
A more detailed examination of her ideas can
be found in the MACAT analysis.
