Simone DeBeauvoir - Essay Example

In fact, "a man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex; it goes without saying that he is man "(De Beauvoir 1986, p. 15). Opposite to the men, women are forced to constantly justify their social status as women in which femininity is particularly important. De Beauvoir points to three main arguments in favor of the idea of the existence of gender discrimination against women. Firstly, De Beauvoir regards the stereotypes in relation to biological differences between men and women: a womans body is considered as defective and limited, while the male body is characterized positively.

The second argument in favor of this idea lies in the fact that, as part of the opposition "the Self – the Other" men treat women as an object for manipulation and the overwhelming impact, while the women allow such stereotypes in their address. Consideration of a woman as the Other leads to the third argument in favor of the authors idea. It consists in the fact that gender inequality is determined by social norms with respect to the distribution of various resources and social rights. In practice, women have far fewer rights than men, and this injustice is manifested in all areas of their lives.

In general, the idea of discrimination against women is confirmed by the disproportion in the significance of masculinity and femininity in society. Their status is determined by the opposition "the Self – the Other" where the role of the Self is given to the man as an active and free subject, while the role of the Other belongs to the woman as a dependent object. As mentioned above, the first factor in favor of discrimination against women is associated with stereotypes about male and female bodies.

In fact, men see their bodies as having a perfect set of features for a happy life. In contrast to the man, "woman has ovaries, a uterus: these peculiarities imprison her in her