The Second Sex
Transendence and Immanence:
A human being is neither more nor less than the sum total of her or his actions
Beauvoir believes that all human beings have within them the potential for both transcendence and immanence
Road to transcendence is blocked for women because they do nothing, they fail to make themselves anything
The myth of the Eternal Feminine:
Takes the values, benefits, practices that constitute woman’s experience and projects them as timeless, unchanging essences
The myth becomes the only reality and woman is defined as the absolute Other of man and denied any subjectivity
Patriarchy relies on the myth of woman’s essential immanence and her otherness in constructing male subjectivity
The myth of Mystery:
Women are mysterious and beyond the comprehension of men
Men do not understand the secret essence of femininity simply because it does not exist
Women may not understand men but they are not considered mysterious because the term only applies to the oppressed other
Myths have their roots in the spontaneous attitude of man towards his own existence and toward the world around him, used for self-justification, imposes the laws and customs of a society
Because times are changing and the status of women is changing men must accept without reservations the situation, only then will women be able to live in this situation without anguish or confusion
Done by:
Sara Al-Ajmi 204112690
Fajr Fuad Abbas 204113222