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Simone de Beauvoir is one of the most influential feminist theorists and writers of the twentieth century, whose works continue to impact and shape views of the modern public on different political and social matters. In the introduction to her book titled The Second Sex, she discusses the topic of womens position in the world and presents a historical perspective, tracing the two sexes hierarchical relations to ancient times. Nevertheless, Beauvoir claims that such perception of women did not originate at one particular point in history, but rather it has existed forever. She states that women have always played the role of an object for men and acted subserviently by virtue of being considered an inferior being in the male-dominated environment. She concludes the introduction by saying that, despite all the social factors, women in their essence remain free individuals, yet oppressed by the existing system causing them to make decisions that correspond to mens interests. Exploring the aforementioned problem, she uses the concept of woman as Other, which is worth discussing as a separate topic since it is the key to understanding Beauvoirs philosophy and personal views.
The philosopher notes that there is a considerable asymmetry between the concepts of masculine and feminine, the former is usually perceived as the norm, while the latter represents a deviation. For example, to explain her idea, she provides a metaphor, the relation of the two sexes is not that of two electrical poles (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 25). She writes that men represent both positive and neutral, thus encompassing all possible social roles, apart from those allocated strictly to women. Men are considered the standard, and the Subject against which the Object is determined, Beauvoir states that males never define themselves through their sex, while all of the womens occupations stem from their gender identity. Whereas men represent the spirit of independence and are self-sufficient, women are unable to act on their own and function autonomously. Describing this situation, the writer calls women the others, individuals who exist only as the counterparts to the primary actors, men.
Beauvoir employs the idea of Other as a way to define the womans place in respect to men, who occupy the absolute position and represent the Self, establishing a duality between the two elements. According to her, the notion of the other is characteristic of any culture or social relationship, the category of Other is as original as consciousness itself (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 26). It is in the human nature to draw a line between the tribes they belong to and the ones that are considered alien. Beauvoir states that No group ever defines itself as One without immediately setting up the Other opposite itself (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 26). In other words, people have always used alterity in their attempts to explain the events taking place around them; whenever individuals form a collective, they inevitably find someone who will constitute an outsider. Since men historically dominate across all societies, they control their environment and become the Subject in relation to which the Object, women, is identified. This situation forces the latter to adjust to the needs and desires of the former and perform the duties expected from them.
Yet, in most cases, the state of otherness is relative since the balance between objects and subjects depends on particular circumstances. For example, a king always bears the risk of being killed during a coup, which will then lead to the fall of his regime and establishment of another one, resulting in a shift in power. The mans power, on the other hand, is uncontested since his position as the absolute is never challenged by women, which constitutes the lack of reciprocity in their relations. Beauvoir writes, in order for the Other not to turn into the One, the Other has to submit to this foreign point of view (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 27). She stresses the fact that women choose to accept submission instead of acting in opposition to men, thus solidifying their role as Other. Beauvoir asks a rhetorical question concerning womens reluctance to contest male sovereignty and introduces examples of other oppressed groups for comparison.
She states that oppression often arises in the event when the majority decides to conquer the minority, for example, in the situations with African Americans or Jews. There are also oppressed majorities, such as proletarians or black Haitians, that positing themselves as subjects, they thus transform the bourgeois or whites into others (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 28). Yet, all of these groups, despite their number, share either common history, culture, or goals, which are absent in the case of women. The beginning of oppression of these groups can be traced to a particular historical moment, while womens dependence is not the consequence of an event or a becoming (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 28). Women do not have solidarity since all of them, in spite of their social standing, belong to their men, refusing to change their role. Moreover, they lack any means to protect their interests collectively since the male-dominated environment often prevents them from establishing groups. Yet, the main difference between women and other oppressed communities is that together with men, they constitute a whole, where females are bound to be the Other due to the biological division of sexes.
Beauvoir asserts that the biological factor in relations between men and women should grant the latter certain control over the former since males experience sexual attraction to females, yet, it does not have any effect. The philosopher claims that the historical development of society has led to a situation where men possess absolute privilege. Despite being partially reliant on women, the strength of females dependence on them erases any opportunity for equality. Even when some nations guarantee rights to women, long-standing habit keeps them from being concretely manifested in customs (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 29). Men have a variety of social advantages, such as higher salaries, better access to positions of power, and the historical examples of great achievements of males that further reinforce their status of superiority. If women were to stop cooperating with men, they would risk losing access to their resources and all the benefits they might otherwise extract from them. Therefore, females may not want to abandon their role as Other since it has its merit, and becoming the Subject requires embracing freedom, which may not bring as much satisfaction as staying protected by men.
Beauvoir explains that because the concept of woman as Other is beneficial for men, they for many centuries have been perpetuating this idea and presenting different justifications for the females inferior status. She writes, lawmakers, priests, philosophers, writers, and scholars have gone to great lengths to prove that womens subordinate condition was willed in heaven (de Beauvoir, 2011, p. 31). Men, by virtue of dominating in practically every sphere of life, and especially those that implied power and fortune, tried to prevent women from excelling beyond their usual role of housewife. They created various doctrines, theories, academic and religious works that provided reasoning and arguments for why women occupied the lower hierarchy rank. This rationale would later be used as a basis for different laws and statutes that banned certain activities, such as voting, for women and threatened them with legal consequences for behaving inappropriately.
Simone de Beauvoir, in the introduction to her book The Second Sex, talks about the concept of woman as Other, according to which, throughout history, females have been thought of as inferior to men. She writes that men are considered to be the standard, the absolute, and the Subject in relation to which women are determined as objects, and their sex plays a major role in their self-identification. Males historically dominated in all areas of life and, thus, have always defined themselves as One in opposition to Other, females. For centuries, men gave different reasons for the womens subservient place, creating theories and explanations that justified the inequality. Yet their relations can be explained by the fact that men and women together constitute a whole, which makes it hard for the latter to challenge their oppressor. Moreover, some women are satisfied with the existing state of affairs since they find their position advantageous and derive a variety of benefits from it. Thus, using the idea of woman as Other, Beauvoir managed to show how women for a long time were mistreated by the opposite sex and laid the groundwork for future feminist theorists.
Reference
de Beauvoir, S. (2011). The second sex (1st ed.). Vintage Books.
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