The Second Sex

The subtitle of "The Second Sex I" is "Facts and Myths". The author analyzes the reasons why women became "the Other" from the perspectives of biology, psychoanalysis, and historical materialism regarding women. Subsequently, by examining human history, the book profoundly reveals the fate of women from primitive society to the present. Finally, taking five famous writers—Montherlant, Lawrence, Claudel, Breton, and Stendhal—as examples, the book analyzes the "female myths" created by men and discusses the image of women in men's eyes and the ideas they embody.

The subtitle of "The Second Sex II" is "Lived Experience". Starting from existentialist philosophical theory, it directly examines different periods in a woman's life (childhood, adolescence, sexual awakening, marriage, motherhood, and old age). At the same time, it makes judgments and evaluations of experiences she might encounter throughout her life (homosexuality, becoming an intellectual, a celebrity, a prostitute, or a courtesan, etc.), profoundly revealing the situation and nature of women. The author also analyzes the formation process of narcissistic women, women in love, and devout women, as well as the complex social reasons behind them. Finally, the book proposes that the only path to women's liberation is to become independent women, and emphasizes that true gender equality can only be achieved when changes in women's economic status lead to spiritual, social, and cultural consequences, and when women's self-awareness undergoes a fundamental transformation.

出版日期/Publication Date：January 1, 2014
出版社/Publisher：上海译文出版社
出品方/Imprint:
页数/Page: 949