Feminist Thought
b. 1909 Parisian middle class
family
attended Catholic elementary
and secondary schools
Attended the Sorbonne
1925-1929
To obtain her license and diploma to teach
Ended up obtaining her agregation in philosophy
Youngest woman at 21 to have ever done so
Scored below only Sartre
Taught until 1943; WWII
Then literary career
The Ethics of Ambiguity (1949)
The Second Sex (1949)
Her
novel, Les Mandarins (1954), won
the Prix Goncourt
Published Les Temps
Modernes
Literary
and political journal with Sartre
Studies the nature of existence, the human
experience
What is, rather than what ought to be
Existence
precedes essence rather than the
other way around. (I am, therefore I _______)
See
focus on the concrete experience and realism sections in Wiki entry
Philosphers: Kierkegard, Sartre, Nietschze (also
nihilist);
Authors: Dostoyevsky, Bukowski, Palahniuk (Fight
Club)
Playwrights: Sarte, Genet
Modern
books/films: Blade Runner, Fight
Club
Discussion Questions:
What is existentialism? What kind of questions does an
existentialist philosopher ask about sex/gender? Women/men?
What questions does de
Beauvoir ask?
What are her answers? What is woman?
What is femininity?
What is Other as used by
Beauvoir? How are women
Other? Compared to what Self?
Can women (men) transcend
womanhood (manhood)? How?
How did de Beauvoir transcend
womanhood in her life?