Michael Daniel

Simone de Beauvoir – The Second Sex, Chapter 3 and Conclusion

11-1-2006

Engels says that women were equal to men in prehistoric times but when metals

were discovered and metal tools were invented man invented ownership and so instituted

a class system that oppressed women. Engles was wrong for many reasons. Biology,

psychoanalysis and historical materialism alone will not clarify the ‘battle of the sexes’.

Women are oppressed because of man’s quest for transcendence. Women give birth but

men use tools to take control of the moment and change the future, because of this men

transcend and women are tied to their biological processes. Woman wants to be

transcendent. Men are just as tied to their identities in the battle of the sexes as women

are only men are superior in the battle of the sexes and women are the other. Women are

raised to look forward to love and marriage and children. Men use women to further

define themselves. Women and men measure time spent dating differently. If women

were raised with the same expectations men are raised to have then we would have

equality between the sexes and that would be ideal.

Beauvoir states that, “If a caste is kept in a state of inferiority, not doubt it remains

inferior; but liberty can break the circle. Let the Negroes vote and they become worthy

of having the vote; let women be given responsibilities and she is able to assume them.”

There are no statements backing this claim. It is a false claim. Just because you allow

somebody to do something does not mean that they will be able to do it. For example, we

can pass a law that makes it legal for people to move faster than the speed of light but it

does not mean that people will be able to do it. I believe that the claim is correct, but it is

missing evidence.
 The conclusion was well written. Beauvoir seems to have a wonderful grasp on

how dating works. When reading it I thought back on my relationships and realized that

the way time was treated in those relationships was almost exactly how Beauvoir

described it. I think of spending time with a girlfriend as an investment in a relationship.

They seem to see it as some kind of obligation for me. I don’t know about that part about

just wanting sex and nothing else, but the explanation of the perception of time was great.

Then again, it is entirely possible that I tend to date clingy women. Or maybe I

just don’t want to spend enough time on a relationship or maybe I have some kind of fear

of commitment. Still, I like the perception of time explanation much better.

I don’t know if I can really picture a world where women and men are completely

equal. It would certainly require a redefinition of how relationships work. How would

dating work when women and men are both expected to make the first move? Who picks

up the tab at the restaurant or bar? Who makes the arrangements for the concert tickets?

Who leads when dancing? The only place I would think to look for to get answers to

these questions would be the gay community. Since they date within their own sex they

probably already have these problems solved. I’ll have to ask around and see how they

do it.