Simone de Beauvoir: fighting for

change
The French writer and philosopher. She is best known for her feminist classic The Second Sex and
her famous declaration, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
Simone de Beauvoir realisation that she had a privileged class position in comparison to the majority
of French women provided the catalyst for her writing of The Second Sex. She scrutinises the
assumptions of society’s concept of “woman” and the many ways in which women become
conditioned to accept certain ideas about ourselves. She argues that women’s position in society
and the roles they are expected to fulfil are “Other” or inferior when compared with those open to
men. She condemned society’s emphasis on motherhood and the family. She cites the need for
women’s economic and social independence from men through work outside the home and criticised
the “double burden” of childcare/housework and working life which many women face. She was not
just a provocative and informative writer. She engaged with many of the most important political
issues of her time and toward the end of her life was particularly involved in the campaign for
women’s rights in France.
As anti-colonialists, they were also involved in campaigns against the French occupation of Algeria.
This was a defining battle for the left in France and an issue that polarised national opinion. In 1962,
Beauvoir received death threats as a result of speaking out against the abuse of an Algerian woman
by French forces. She also condemned the Vietnam War and demonstrated against the suppression
of left wing newspapers by the Gaullist government during 1968.
Beauvoir’s condemnation of the discrimination women face and her investigation into the “myth of
the feminine” continue to have relevance today. Sadly, nowadays Beauvoir is often only mentioned
within the context of her relationship with Sartre. Her work and life should act as a reminder to us
about how vigilant we must continue to be in challenging all forms of oppression in our fight for a
better world.