Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher and writer, best known for *The Second Sex* (1949), a foundational text of modern feminism.
Her analysis of women as historically constructed as "the Other" shaped feminist theory for decades.
She had a lifelong intellectual and romantic partnership with Jean-Paul Sartre.
She's reading Beauvoir for her gender studies class.
French existentialist philosopher
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- bad faithIntentional deception in dealings
- existenceState of being real
consciousness · choice · responsibility · absurdity · phenomenology · being · anguish · subjectivity
French existentialist philosopher
- open relationshipConsensual romantic nonexclusivity
- lettersAlphabetic characters or mail
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
- companionshipState of having company
Social identity category
- patriarchyMale-dominated social order
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- liberationRelease from constraint
- womanhoodAdult female state
femininity · becoming · immanence · emancipation · women's rights · gender equality · social construct · biology
Paris's intellectual quarter
- café cultureSocial life around coffeehouses
- ParisFrance's chief city
- public intellectualScholar engaging broad audiences
- SorbonneFamous Parisian academic institution
lecture circuit · controversy · debate · literary circles · salons
Written personal history
- novelistWriter of prose narratives
- essayistAuthor of short prose
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- bad faithIntentional deception in dealings
existence · consciousness · choice · responsibility · absurdity · phenomenology · being · anguish · subjectivity · transcendence
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- open relationshipConsensual romantic nonexclusivity
- lettersAlphabetic characters or mail
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
gender
Social identity category
- patriarchyMale-dominated social order
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- liberationRelease from constraint
womanhood · femininity · becoming · immanence · emancipation · women's rights · gender equality · social construct · biology · destiny
Left Bank
Paris's intellectual quarter
- café cultureSocial life around coffeehouses
- ParisFrance's chief city
- public intellectualScholar engaging broad audiences
Sorbonne · lecture circuit · controversy · debate · literary circles · salons
memoirs
Written personal history
- novelistWriter of prose narratives
- essayistAuthor of short prose
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative