The Second Sex Introduction

Simone de Beauvoir begins her introduction by explaining that she chose to write a book about women because there is still a controversy over what it means to be a woman in the first place. Is “femininity” biological, or defined by behaviors, or nonexistent in the first place? She begins to define the category of “woman” by considering the fact that she feels the need to define herself first and foremost as a woman, while men do not feel the need to identify so overtly with their masculinity. Woman is “the Other” because man defines himself as essential to the world, and sees himself as the subject by which woman is defined. de Beauvoir also gives women responsibility for changing this duality, however, pointing out that woman must redefine herself as the subject in order to change her situation. She does explain that it is more difficult for women to change this dynamic than it would be for the proletariat, Jews, or African Americans to rebel against their oppression, because women cannot simply overthrow their oppressor—women do need men in order to survive.