Beauvoir, Simone de (1908–1986)

Abstract

The French existentialist philosopher, writer, and social essayist Simone de Beauvoir is most widely known for her pioneering work Le Deuxième Sexe (1949), published in English as The Second Sex (1953). Her exposé of woman as “Other” and her calling attention to the feminine condition of oppression as historically linked to motherhood are considered her major contributions to modern feminist thought. While not generally acknowledged as a sociologist, Beauvoir nevertheless contributed to sociology in The Second Sex , The Coming of Age ( La Vieillesse , 1970), a study of old age, and, to a lesser extent, her writings on the media (Deegan 1991) and death and dying (Marks 1973). Simone de Beauvoir is also internationally read and widely known for her novels, autobiographies, and travelogues. In 1954 her novel Les Mandarins was awarded the Prix Goncourt, clearly placing Beauvoir among the most highly acclaimed French literary writers of her time. Beauvoir's theorizing corrects androcentric biases found in earlier gender‐neutral theoretical frameworks, particularly in her use of social categories to inform individually oriented philosophical theories of self‐determination and freedom (Walsh 2000). She systematically examined the historically situated or lived experiences of women relative to men. Deeply influenced by the existential philosophy of her lifelong companion Jean‐Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir extended Sartrean existential philosophy to encompass social and cultural determinants of the human condition. She used existential philosophy, as a guide for understanding herself as a woman and as a framework for understanding the condition of women more generally.