The title of this article says “ the second sex” , before the article starts you can already see the inequality between genders and how a woman comes second. Beauvoir goes on to ask an astonishing question” after all , is there a problem? And if so , what is it? Are there women , really?” How did each of us begin life ? Where did we develop ? Who’s body fed us while we each grew from a fetus to 9 month old baby ? WOMEN ! Whether women are desired on the earth , whether or not you want them here makes no difference , woman give life and without them how will we evolve or expand our families ?
As I keep reading I can’t help but to get upset, the article starts to talk about a woman being trapped in her nature , referring to her having a uterus and glands. We all forget that males have bodily organs that set them apart and they are more sensitive than a females. For instance if you kick a male between his legs he’ll collapse in pain without a doubt but if you do the same to a female she won’t, so who’s stronger ? Who can withstand pain? This article for me was upsetting to read, to think people actually think this way and feel that it’s the right way. Beauvoir goes on to say “ even when her rights are legally recognized in the abstract, long-standing custom prevents their full expression in the mores..” Here it is , a male telling us that even though we all know when have legal rights and are legally supposed to be treat equally they aren’t even respected. Women in many ways are facing difficulties getting ahead because of their sex.
A few pages later Beauvoir quotes Montaigne who says “ women are not wrong when they decline to accept the rules laid down for them , since the men make these rules without consulting them. Why must a women respect rules laid out for her if the person making those rules doesn’t have enough respect to consider women or talk to women before making these rules? Once the industrial revolution came about it allowed women to take on much different roles than the ones males have previously placed them in. This brought about fear , Fear is an ugly thing. As we see, it can make a group of people , whether it be the same sex or same religion, act out towards another.
