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Quote by Simone de Beauvoir

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Extracts From: The Second Sex

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Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer, philosopher, feminist, and social activist. Known for her profound philosophical thoughts and her advocacy for women's status, she is one of the most influential female thinkers of the 20th century. Her works spanned various genres, including novels, philosophical essays, plays, and memoirs, with her most famous work being 'The Second Sex'. more

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“Their idea of what it means to live a life in a female body is informed by the male gaze, gender stereotypes and porn. This is why their fantasy recreation of a woman hardly ever involves being paid less, doing unpaid domestic labour or being ignored. Instead they are drawn to the stereotype of beautiful bimbos whose lives are easy and filled with acceptance, slumber parties, gossiping in female toilets, colouring each other's hair and prancing around in sexy lingerie and fluffy slippers.”

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“How can a man know what being a female feels like, when he's not female? The answer is - he can't. He can only have an idea based on the way he perceives the opposite sex, and since every man has his own ideas, this makes the definition of 'woman' illusive. What's more, given that men have traditionally viewed women as weak, submissive and empty headed sex objects who wear dresses, makeup and have long hair, men who claim to be women often emulate feminine gender stereotypes in order to substantiate their claim to womanhood.”

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Author:Isidora Sanger
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“No other technique for the conduct of life attaches the individual so firmly to reality as laying emphasis on work; for his work at least gives him a secure place in a portion of reality, in the human community. The possibility it offers of displacing a large amount of libidinal components, whether narcissistic, aggressive or even erotic, on to professional work and on to the human relations connected with it lends it a value by no means second to what it enjoys as something indispensible to the preservation and justification of existence in society. Professional activity is a source of special satisfaction if it is a freely chosen one — if, that is to say, by means of sublimation, it makes possible the use of existing inclinations, of persisting or constitutionally reinforced instinctual impulses. And yet, as a path to happiness, work is not highly prized by men. They do not strive after it as they do after other possibilities of satisfaction. The great majority of people only work under the stress of necessity, and this natural human aversion to work raises most difficult social problems.”

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Book:Civilization and Its Discontents
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“Category errors that redefine the members of a privileged class as members of an oppressed class are particularly pernicious because they replicate the existing social hierarchies. Men who claim to be women, for example, still exploit, abuse and subjugate women, only they do this from within the women's movement, dismantling women's right to single sex spaces and silencing discussions about uniquely female experiences.”

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“Just like the most ardent of priests, transactivists are not only asking us to believe them, they are asking us to believe in them as agents of truth, who are in possession of knowledge that eludes the rest of us.”

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“[...] the argument that rape - by violence or deception - is a good method to ensure the survival of the human species has never been convincing. Women, like men, are born with a biological imperative to procreate and they are instinctively equipped to choose males that have a chance of producing the fittest offspring, either due to superior / compatible genetics or a willingness to help raise the young. Taking this choice away from a woman undermines the basic process of mate selection and ultimately works against the survival of the species. Selfish males who sexually coerce women seldom make good fathers and providers. Their violence, neglect, and abandonment creates significant psychological and physical trauma, which is passed on to the next generation, creating a cycle of despair and destructiveness.”

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“The belief that a man not being able to orgasm in whatever way he wants is a tragedy, and something that - no matter how drastic - must be done about it, is in fact the bread and butter of male supremacy. to this end, men have created prostitution, pornography, sex dolls and even the oppression of women, which includes an expectation that women will do whatever it takes to satisfy male sexual urges, and take responsibility for male sexual offending.”

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“History is full of women who thought they could bargain their way out of oppression by throwing other women under the bus. Women who believe that if only they joined in with the persecution of feminists, lesbians, women in prison and domestic violence shelters, they would be immune from attack. Believe this at your peril.”

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“Have you thought about why, in the UK and Ireland, we can't stop men who identify as women from competing in women's sporting events, becoming Women's Officers and winning 'woman of the year' awards, but women who identify as men still can't inherit peerages or become catholic priests? It's because this ideology you are caught up in is patriarchy on steroids, designed to rig the game even more to women's disadvantage.”

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