In the piece, “Woman as Other” by Simone de Beauvoir, we see the authors view on how women are perceived in our country and the harsh treatment they endure. We see the authors view on what their role really is in society and how important they truly are. We see that Simone views women as a sub-human extension of the male race and are rarely given credit to be anything else except for that. While we may disagree, there are occurrences in our country that hold us responsible for this viewpoint of women.
Simone uses the word “other” to sort of categorize women into this lesser role of humanity. When she goes further into detail to find the origin of this categorization, we see that women have been viewed as lesser from the very beginning. Women have been given much lesser rights than men, make less than men do, and suffer abuses that men will probably never suffer. The role of the woman, according to the viewpoint of Simone, is that of the housewife, or an extension of the male. She believes that women are not necessarily even members of humanity and that men are alone in that category.
Gender based violence is also greatly to blame for this moral standpoint. We see women
…show more content…
It is common knowledge that women make less than men do. Over the years, women have conquered many obstacles and have obtained many rights in the workplace, however inequality still exists. In another article, we see that in the year 2010, women only made seventy-seven cents of every dollar that men made (Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace). The gap of pay has been lowered, but not significantly. Our gap is lower than in other countries, but that still doesn’t say a lot. This is a huge problem because, aside from having a job in the workplace, women are also responsible for taking care of their home and children, which costs a considerable amount of money. The money that women make can’t really meet the needs they
Since the late 19th century, women have been struggling with the issue of not receiving the same amount of pay as men. The gender wage gap was not seen as a major issue until the 1960s, however, and unfortunately, it is still a major issue in our world today. (cite source). In the early 1900’s, World War I caused many men to leave their families behind to fight for their country. As a result of this, women had to take the responsibility of the male roles in the workforce. Women were expected to do the same jobs as men did before they were deployed, but were paid less to do so (cite source). This problem still exists in our world today. In 2011, it was proven that the weekly earnings for a female full-time worker is $684, compared
She states that `to pose woman is to pose then absolute Other' (821). `The other' is referred to women who are classified as being different to men even though both share a human body. Women are also not seen as `a subject, a fellow human being.'(821). This is caused by men who believe a myth of females through experiences of which Beauvoir states as feelings and thoughts, rather then the reality of women themselves. Men see women as what they think they see because of the way they feel about women. Men have opinions in ways of physical or knowledge of women. These opinions created are myths which men believe to be the true women. These men usually belong in the western patriarchal society. Men hold myths against women and "placed women beneath men and held them to be the property of men" (Guerrero). Being "placed beneath men" can show that women are treated unequally in a patriarchal society where they are not respected. This is the woman in a patriarch world.
Unfortunately, it has been proven through a multitude of research that the average female makes about 79% of the amount that their male counterpart would make. Even after achieving the victory of making jobs for women a norm, women still struggle with the male advantage. As Susan B. Anthony continued in Suffrage and the Working Woman, “When she has attained ability to compete with them and to do just as well in every respect she is placed at work, if at all, on half pay” (Anthony). Although some argue that the gender pay gap is nothing but a myth, the statistical facts show otherwise. While those in positions of power and privilege attempt to thrust this issue out of the picture, it remains a large problem that no woman should be unaware of. Unequal pay is a common issue for plenty of women for far too long, and must be
Despite women having to take care of the domestic responsibilities and maintain a successful career, women are making just a mere 64.4% of what their male counterparts make. The inequality leaps off the paper (Julie Cool). Women being in the workforce have created a plethora of problems associated with gender inequality. Additionally aside from the inequalities, the new step for women to balance a home life and a job has brought change in the family structure. Mothers are not just mothers anymore, but are Doctors, Teachers, Entrepreneurs, and politicians as
De Beauvoir’s “Woman as Other” lays out an elaborate argument on gender inequality; using the term “other” to establish woman’s alternate, lesser important role throughout her work, the author dissects and examines from its origin the female’s secondary position in society in contrast to man. Indeed, from the beginning of recorded history, the duality of man, by definition, positions woman at the opposing end of the spectrum in relation to her male counterpart. Even by today’s modern and accepting standards, the female suffers under the brand of being the sub-standard half of the duality equation; compared to her male opponent, women are paid lower wages, have fewer and limited expression of rights, achieve lower
The concept of a woman as the Other bears similarity as well as ample contrast to Sartre’s metaphysical concept of the Other. One of the main differences as well as reasons for the slow rise of acceptance of women’s equality is that women do not form a community as firm as groups oppressed by their designation as the others. “The reason for this is that women lack concrete means for organizing themselves into a unit which can stand face to face with the correlative unit. They have no past, no history, no religion of their own; and they have no such solidarity of work and interest as that of the proletariat. They are not even promiscuously herded together in the way that creates community feeling among the American Negroes, the ghetto Jews, the workers of Saint-Denis, or the factory hands of Renault.” (5) Thus women are primarily members of those communities seeking equality in terms of ethnicity, race, etc. before their equality as women to men. According to de Beauvoir, the reason why women struggle to unify is that their loyalty belongs primarily to their socioeconomic class, ethnicity or belief rather
In her book she challenges the government of France and their ideas that women should not be exposed to the same education as men. She gives warning that women will not forever be satisfied with only domestic concerns, and she demands justice for the female race.
Half of the whole workforce in the United States is made up of women, yet their average pay is more than twenty percent less than a male counterpart (“Pay”)(Claire). If they do ask for a raise, many employers deem them as untrustworthy though many men are more respected. (Claire). Women in the United States make only seventy-eight cents to every man’s dollar (“Pay”). Yet, 49,000,000 children in the U.S. today rely on a female to provide them with food, clothing, and other necessities (“Did”). Women being paid less is caused because of sexism, the history of our nation, and small details that employers find relevant enough to lower a woman’s pay.
For the past 100 years, there has been an increasing amount of market dependence which has modified household strategies. These household strategies have reshaped the constraints and opportunities faced by women. There still exists a wage gap that is a prominent problem that women face in society. The answer to these disparities with pay is motherhood, which acts as a barrier to full gender equality. The New York Times article titled “The Gender Pay Gap Is Largely Because of Motherhood” summarized what creates these disparities that women face. Having children can be damaging to the careers of women, “college-educated women make about 90 percent as much as men at age 25 and about 55 percent as much at age 45” (New York Times, 2017). Overtime these differences in pay pileup, putting women behind in the workforce. Women are physically forced to take time off for biological reasons such as giving birth and supporting their children. While men on the other hand, aren’t involved in giving birth therefore they can stay at work longer, getting ahead in the workforce receiving promotions by completing more work. Employers view this as an opportunity to pay women less because they aren’t at work as often as men. Gender inequalities are present in the workforce.
The gender wage gap is a prominent issue which is fought for in feminism today. In the past, this standard has been justified due to the fact that women were more likely to be stay-at-home moms, and were less likely to have jobs or college degrees. Today, women are getting comparable education to men, and working comparable jobs, yet the issue remains. The gender wage gap is a women’s rights issue based on the old-fashioned role of women in society which needs to be fought against and decreased in the United States during this current political and social climate.
In the chapter of her book The Second Sex entitled “the Woman in Love,” Simone de Beauvoir characterizes the romantic ideal of the relationship with a man as a woman’s purpose as a form of self-deception (translated here as “bad faith”). The self-deception de Beauvoir describes is based in the thesis of The Second Sex. This is the idea that women have been deceived into believing that they are second-class humans. Western culture, according to de Beauvoir, teaches us that women are missing some elusive element of the self that endows men with freedom- a concept essential to the existentialist definition of the conscious being. Therefore, a woman can never find fulfillment as a thinking person as
Throughout most women’s lives, they have become accustomed to the idea of receiving less in wages compared to a man. A decade ago, women were merely earning 77 cents for every dollar a man earned. To this day, that gap still persists. However, new concepts have come to existence on how women can overcome this gap. But how do women really do this?
Lastly, “femininity” refers to behavioural activities or interests that are assigned to the female sex, such as cleaning and cooking (Beauvoir, 617). Although many critics have read her text and become confused due to her stylistic choice to fuse her voice with the voices of famous men, it can be said that the text ultimately leads the reader to begin to question what society sees as a woman (Zerilli, 1-2). Despite Beauvoir’s The Second Sex appearing to recognize the oppression of women throughout the world without giving an actual solution, I will argue that Beauvoir’s evaluation of each “natural” aspect of female oppression allows readers to recognize that the only thing holding themselves back as a woman is society’s unnatural definition of their body, relation to men, and personal freedoms. Of course, when it comes to one's freedom, it is difficult to obtain when your body feels like a
Butler starts by taking a gander at the issues of characterizing woman. In the past woman 's rights has considered ladies to be its subjects for political representation. Butler, nonetheless, contends that we can 't consider women to be a bound together homogenous gathering subsequent to each woman is a one of a kind person. Women are not a unified gathering subsequent to there are a considerable number of divisive contrasts between them. This is a substantial point to make as it would appear to be improbable that a neediness stricken assembly line laborer woman from the Third World would feel she had much in the same manner as a
One of the beginning issues of women being oppressed starts with the wage gap between working women and men. This wage gap is often one of the most direct roots to the overwhelming amount of women living in poverty. Despite many women working, or looking for work in the U.S, they have been continually paid less than their male counterparts. For years, women, especially those who are working class’ equal rights have been pushed aside and causes an endless cycle of oppression for many women. The inequalities working-class women face such as the wage gap causes economical issues such as poverty, that affects the economy as a whole. In efforts to close the wage gap, the United States needs to raise the federal minimum wage, ensure family and medical leave, and encourage everyone to speak out about gender equality.