Simone de Beauvoir and feminism

This lesson from a PROFESSOR is dedicated to Simone de Beauvoir, a feminist philosopher of French origin and the author of many novels and essays of a political, social and philosophical nature. The philosophy of this great thinker is framed within the existentialist current, as does her partner, Jean Paul Sartre. Her fundamental work, The Second Sex, it constitutes a symbol in the history of feminism. If you want to know more about the thought of Simone de Beauvoir and feminism, continue reading this article, you will find it very interesting.

The most representative work of her,The Second Sex, published in 1949, totally scandalous in its time, it represents a before and after in history of feminist philosophy, and was responsible, in large part, for the series of social changes that occurred in the mid-twentieth century.

Simone de Beauvoir's feminism is existentialist and thus, the philosopher denies that the human being possesses a fixed essence, being only "existence". As existence, the human being is

"project", "transcendence", "freedom". In this way, depriving an individual of the development of her potential constitutes an act of violence. In the case of women, they have been deprived of a series of rights throughout history simply because they are women. Therefore, there is a situation of domination of men over women, for reasons of sex only, a full-blown injustice.

Only after women begin to feel at home on this earth, does a Rosa Luxemburg, a Madame Curie, appear. They dazzlingly demonstrate that it is not the inferiority of women that has determined their insignificance.. Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir she will make use of the concepts of existentialist philosophy to make a series of demands for equal rights for women. This task would have begun at the time of the Illustration, favored by the optimistic atmosphere of the time. Over time, and after a long and painful struggle, women won the right to vote and later, the right to higher education. Today, the struggle continues, and there is still a long way to go, many rights to achieve, because machismo is still in force in society, although it often hides under a mask of equality.

The acuity that Simone de Beauvoir had to analyze the situation of oppression, domination and exploitation that women have been suffering throughout history, however, would not allow him to realize his own, since she lived in the shadow of her partner, the existentialist philosopher, Jean paul sartre.

So that you better know the feminism of Simone de Beauvoir, here is a summary with all of her most outstanding works. All of them have this feminist vision that defends the social position of women.

Novel by Simone de Beauvoir

• The guest.
• The blood of the others
• All men are mortal
• Mandarins
• The beautiful pictures
• The broken woman
• When the spiritual predominates

Essays of Simone de Beauvoir

• What the action for
• For a moral of ambiguity
• Existentialism and the wisdom of the peoples
• America up to date
• The second sex
• The political thought of the right
• The long march
• Old age

Memories and diaries

• Naked america
• Memoirs of a formal young woman
• The fullness of life
• The force of things
• A very sweet death
• End of accounts
• The goodbye ceremony
• War diary
• Cahiers de jeunesse

In his time, the feminist movement was not so popular, but from the 60s, feminism resurfaces with force, based on the study of the work of Simone de Beauvoir. And so, a group of thinkers, decide to put into practice all the theory that the feminist movement would have created up to that moment, and apply it to the inclusion of women in the field of culture, which is ultimately what allows access to politics, economics, law, science, or art ...

In Spain, they are heirs of the feminist movement,Celia Amorós, Alicia Puleo, Amelia Valcárcel, Alicia Miyares, Luisa Posada, Rosa Cobo, Ana de Miguel, María José Guerra Palmero, among other.

You are not born a woman, you become one. Simone de Beauvoir

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