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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I was going to give this 4 stars because the intro & myths section was immaculate, but I just couldn’t back it with the rest of the book.
I see Beauvoir as more relaxed and connected but I didn’t see that here. She grouped women together without taking into consideration other classes, races & sexualities and when she did (specifically with lesbianism, sex work and transgender women) she was a little lost… which I’ll stick with the fact that it was written a long time ago, but still it soured the book for me.
Historically, the book is very important due to its shocking & progressive views but now it’s what we see as normal really and it’s no longer useful in a modern context - especially with the amount of Beauvoir's dependence on Freud’s work would affirm the views of transphobes & TERFs.
In conclusion, as important as this book is historically, it’s now outdated and honestly a little bit of a disappointing read considering how much I idolised her during my high school philosophy classes. But, I will keep in mind how much we have progressed and that does make me happy.
Overall, I would say not to read this as your first piece of feminist literature and potentially go for something more modern or progressive to understand society today than how it was back in the 40s/50s
I see Beauvoir as more relaxed and connected but I didn’t see that here. She grouped women together without taking into consideration other classes, races & sexualities and when she did (specifically with lesbianism, sex work and transgender women) she was a little lost… which I’ll stick with the fact that it was written a long time ago, but still it soured the book for me.
Historically, the book is very important due to its shocking & progressive views but now it’s what we see as normal really and it’s no longer useful in a modern context - especially with the amount of Beauvoir's dependence on Freud’s work would affirm the views of transphobes & TERFs.
In conclusion, as important as this book is historically, it’s now outdated and honestly a little bit of a disappointing read considering how much I idolised her during my high school philosophy classes. But, I will keep in mind how much we have progressed and that does make me happy.
Overall, I would say not to read this as your first piece of feminist literature and potentially go for something more modern or progressive to understand society today than how it was back in the 40s/50s
I re-read the intro, last chapter about recommendations for future and conclusions in the new translation. intro still holds up but thank god not the other two! some progress has been made! Must say new translation is pretty great. I think making a bio-pic about the original translator (H.M. Parshley) would be an excellent idea though.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I really debated giving this 3 stars. But in the end, I decided that I couldn't do that, because the first section, history and myths, was so immaculate that if it were a separate book, it would've been a six-star read.
Beauvoir for me has always been the most down-to-earth of the existentialists, more connected to lived experience and reality. But here, she overstretched I think. She tried to synthesize the entire female experience without a solid understanding of anyone that wasn't white, straight, and middle class. Her ideas about homosexuality, sex work, and transgenderism were...misguided at best. I'll admit that historically, this book has importance and that its views were probably shockingly tolerant, but in a modern setting, I think it has lost that shock and is too tied to its historical context to be a useful guide to understand women today. Also, I must say, Beauvoir's reliance on Freudian psychology and physical sexual characteristics that I fear that gender-critical or trans-exclusionary feminists would adore this and hold it up as evidence of womanhood and assigned sex being one and the same. Definitions of womanhood have changed, the lived experience of women has changed, and while yes, there are certainly important lessons here and certainly life hasn't changed so drastically that this book is entirely irrelevant or outdated, I wouldn't recommend this as an introductory text to feminism.
TL;DR: First half amazing, second half not so amazing. Go read The Ethics of Ambiguity instead, that was brilliant.
Beauvoir for me has always been the most down-to-earth of the existentialists, more connected to lived experience and reality. But here, she overstretched I think. She tried to synthesize the entire female experience without a solid understanding of anyone that wasn't white, straight, and middle class. Her ideas about homosexuality, sex work, and transgenderism were...misguided at best. I'll admit that historically, this book has importance and that its views were probably shockingly tolerant, but in a modern setting, I think it has lost that shock and is too tied to its historical context to be a useful guide to understand women today. Also, I must say, Beauvoir's reliance on Freudian psychology and physical sexual characteristics that I fear that gender-critical or trans-exclusionary feminists would adore this and hold it up as evidence of womanhood and assigned sex being one and the same. Definitions of womanhood have changed, the lived experience of women has changed, and while yes, there are certainly important lessons here and certainly life hasn't changed so drastically that this book is entirely irrelevant or outdated, I wouldn't recommend this as an introductory text to feminism.
TL;DR: First half amazing, second half not so amazing. Go read The Ethics of Ambiguity instead, that was brilliant.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Dense and long, and while much is dated (thankfully!), unfortunately the gendered societal constructs the author discusses still strongly effect us today. This is an essential text for anyone studying gender, history, and women in literature. Glad I stuck it out, and committed!
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide
It was a bit difficult to get through, but what a marvelous endeavor.
slow-paced
Una joya de libro que necesitaré releer varias veces a lo largo de mi vida.
Debo admitir abiertamente que hay cosas que no entendía mientras leía este libro y otras tantas cosas con las que creo que no estoy de acuerdo (suponiendo que las entendí correctamente
Debo admitir abiertamente que hay cosas que no entendía mientras leía este libro y otras tantas cosas con las que creo que no estoy de acuerdo (suponiendo que las entendí correctamente
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced