Quotessence
Home / Books / The Second Sex

The Second Sex

Book by Simone de Beauvoir · 13 quotes · Feminism, Women, Men

Filter quotes by topic

AllFeminismWomenMenFeminismoHumansMalesBodyFactsFemaleFeminineMujerPhilosophySexSituationWorldArtBeauvoirBornDifferentDiscrimination

The Second Sex Quotes

“Woman has ovaries and a uterus; such are the particular conditions that lock her in her subjectivity; some even say she thinks with her hormones. Man vainly forgets that his anatomy also contains hormones and testicles. He grasps his body as a direct and normal link with the world that he believes he apprehends in all objectivity, whereas he considers woman's body an obstacle, a prison, burdened by everything that particularizes it.”

Feminism
Book:The Second Sex
Create image

“The fact is that men encounter more complicity in their woman companions than the oppressor usually finds in the oppressed; and in bad faith they use it as a pretext to declare that woman wanted the destiny they imposed on her. We have seen that in reality her whole education conspires to bar her from paths of revolt and adventure; all of society - beginning with her respected parents - lies to her in extolling the high value of love, devotion, and the gift of self and in concealing the fact that neither lover, husband nor children will be disposed to bear the burdensome responsibility of it. She cheerfully accepts these lies because they invite her to take the easy slope: and that is the worst of the crimes committed against her; from her childhood and throughout her life, she is spoiled, she is corrupted by the fact that this resignation, tempting to any existent anxious about her freedom, is mean to be her vocation; if one encourages a child to be lazy by entertaining him all day, without giving him the occasion to study, without showing him its value, no one will say when he reaches the age of man that he chose to be incapable and ignorant; this is how the woman is raised, without ever being taught the necessity of assuming her own existence; she readily lets herself count on the protection, love, help and guidance of others; she lets herself be fascinated by the hope of being able to realise her being without doing anything. She is wrong to yield to this temptation; but the man is ill advised to reproach her for it since it is he himself who tempted her.”

Feminism
Book:The Second Sex
Create image

“Якщо ми хочемо розв'язати проблему, треба рішуче відкинути всю цю рутину, відмовитися од таких неоднозначних понять, як верховенство, вторинність, рівноправність, котрі спотворили зміст геть усіх дискусій, і розпочати все заново. У такому разі, як нам поставити питання? І хто його розглядатиме?”

Feminism
Book:The Second Sex
Create image