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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Absolutely brilliant, mostly boorish, but also just the scenes, the prose, that time and place in life, one of our contemporary feminist OGs This is required reading.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I can see that, historically, it was ground breaking, and completely revolutionized thinking about feminism. Even today, 60 years later, there were parts of the book that had me thinking, wow, things really haven't changed. Kind of a depressing thought. But the vast majority of the book I found somewhat out-dated and irrelevant, at least to me. First of all, I think much of the biology she discusses is not really correct. Our knowledge in this field has increased so dramatically, that's not really surprising. It's also a small enough part of the book that I'm pretty much OK with that. I also felt like much of the psychoanalysis she discusses is outdated. The views presented are predominantly Freudian, and while I gather he's still seen as the father of psychiatry, I don't think many people today think his ideas were actually right.
My bigger problem with this book is that society, or at least the society I grew up in, has changed so dramatically. Many of the characteristics described have their origins in societal expectations for women. At the time, that meant grow up, get married, have kids. Yes you can entertain yourself by going to school or working (at certain jobs) until then, but once you're married, your husband will support you, and you can stop being a responsible adult. Women were treated like perpetual children, not expected to be able to take care of themselves or really know much about the world (sex, politics, anything other than housekeeping). That view is so far removed from my own upbringing that I just can't relate to it. I know there are women who are still treated like that in many parts of the world, including so-called liberated western civilization.
I think this is an interesting book, at least in part for the historical value. However, I think it's too dense and a little out-dated to be a good "intro to feminism".
My bigger problem with this book is that society, or at least the society I grew up in, has changed so dramatically. Many of the characteristics described have their origins in societal expectations for women. At the time, that meant grow up, get married, have kids. Yes you can entertain yourself by going to school or working (at certain jobs) until then, but once you're married, your husband will support you, and you can stop being a responsible adult. Women were treated like perpetual children, not expected to be able to take care of themselves or really know much about the world (sex, politics, anything other than housekeeping). That view is so far removed from my own upbringing that I just can't relate to it. I know there are women who are still treated like that in many parts of the world, including so-called liberated western civilization.
I think this is an interesting book, at least in part for the historical value. However, I think it's too dense and a little out-dated to be a good "intro to feminism".
I must admit that I only read the first volume, but I might get to the rest one day (there doesn't seem to be an accurate listing of the first volume on GoodReads). It was very heavy but excellent.
soooo intriguing. hope more people read it, even just to add this as another perspective to see the world through
no hay nada natural en lo que es ser humano, no hay nada esencial en lo que es ser una mujer, todo es móvil en la historia
me quedo inquieta pensando en cómo el criterio masculino conforma lo universal, cómo todas las formas de alteridad tienen un antes rastreable excepto la mujer, la alteridad de las mujeres no es un hecho histórico es una alteridad radical "la mujer como lo absolutamente otro"
me cambio la vida me libero de culpas y complicidades
I rarely give 5's on books. This one came pretty close. Anyone who has even a passing interest in feminism, the "divine femine" or any and all mythologies related to feminism should read this book. De Beauvoir does a tremendous job of painting a picture of how females become "others" in the eyes of man in order for man to define, process and interpret the interactions between male and female in different cultures and societies.
Throughout the book, de Beauvoir mentions such instances of females being complicit in their Otherness, particularly with regard to marriage. The difficulty of breaking free from “femininity” (sacrificing security and comfort for some ill-conceived notion of equality) induces many women to accept the usual unfulfilling roles of wife and mother.
Yes. I said usual unfulfilling roles of wife and mother. Women are capable of more.
Throughout the book, de Beauvoir mentions such instances of females being complicit in their Otherness, particularly with regard to marriage. The difficulty of breaking free from “femininity” (sacrificing security and comfort for some ill-conceived notion of equality) induces many women to accept the usual unfulfilling roles of wife and mother.
Yes. I said usual unfulfilling roles of wife and mother. Women are capable of more.
Write a review...It is a tragedy that this book (published mid last century) is still mostly relevant today. DeBeauvoir's easy style with such intense subject matter makes this book an excellent read philisophical excercise. I highly recommend this book to BOTH sexes...
challenging
reflective
medium-paced