A bridge in Paris has been named after feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. You didn't think this could happen in the U.S., did you? I didn't think so. Maybe in another two hundred years or so, the U.S. might be ready to honor the contributions of feminists, instead of fighting them.
A mere ten years ago I reviewed a U.S. philosophy text which referred to de Beauvoir only in passing and only as the 'mistress' of Sartre!
In the feminist classic The Second Sex (1949), Simone de Beauvoir made the claim that "representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth." This is, of course, a primary assumption of feminist epistemology.
"One is not born, but rather becomes a woman."
"Man is defined as a human being and a woman as a female - whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the male."
"Society, being codified by man, decrees that woman is inferior; she can do away with this inferiority only by destroying the male's superiority."
"When an individual is kept in a situation of inferiority, the fact is that he does become inferior."
"In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation."
-- Simone De Beauvoir
Pseudo-Adrienne has more quotes.
Feminism Simone de Beauvoir Gender Politics The Second Sex
