Simone de Beauvoir and the feminist reading of the master and the slave
Since time immemorial women have had difficulty accessing studies for having a secondary social role, it was believed that they could only marry and have children. During the seventeenth century all literary genres began to deal with the issue of women’s education with the aim of creating equality between men and women. We know that today the story is full of great philosophers like Christine of Pisan or Ayn Rand, but without a doubt the most important during the twentieth century was Simon de Beauvoir.
The second sex of Simon de Beauvoir was the most influential book of the twentieth century, it was originally going to be an autobiography, but he thought that she had not meant anything to be a woman because she had had the possibility of studying. It was believed that a woman was not just a person with uterus, but also should be feminine therefore the author changed the question to what is a woman?
The man has always been considered the authority and that is why the woman has been considered the "other" in relation to the man. To illustrate, Simone de Beauvoir makes a parallel with the relationship between masters and slaves. The masters submit to the slave to work for him while the slave is submissive. The master needs the slave to be the master, but not the reverse, if the slave realized that he does not need the master, he would lose his power. This is not possible because the master makes the slave see that he needs him in the same way that the man makes the woman who is necessary in his life. Likewise, the woman believes that she depends on men for various reasons such as it can be economically or because she makes her see that she gives her security.
Women do not fight because they see themselves as slaves and not as women. This is why Simon de Beauvoir raises in his book the second sex the fact that women also have the right to develop a professional and personal life as well as men.
In conclusion, although the situation has changed a lot, I think it should continue to fight for women’s rights. Although they have the same rights as men in the Constitution, society continues to see them as inferior beings, such as "the others".
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