stacevox 's review for:

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

4.0

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I have meant to read this book for a long time, I kept putting it off because somewhat naively I thought a book written in 1949 would be very much out of date with modern feminism. Unsurprisingly I was wrong. This book is composed of two volumes: Facts and Myths in Volume I and Lived Experience in Volume II. While some of the scientific and psychological claims throughout have been debunked, a lot of it is still just as true as it was in 1949. I was also startled by the chapters which looked at abortion, this book was written in 1949 and not only has the discourse and rationale not changed since then but in many cases and countries around the world, the issue has become even more intensely embittered and farther from being a universal right. Looking at the Myths and how women are portrayed in classic literature is still entirely accurate. What struck me by this accuracy is that the place of woman in society has been held in place by thousands of years of history and culture and that despite the leaps and bounds since this was published, cultural expectations are so deeply engrained it takes constant work to challenge them. It's a book I should have read a long time ago, and if it's been languishing on your to-read list, I recommend you read it too.