second sex Essay

as “meaning men” and “being a men” in the middle. Furthermore, the effects attained from these

Throughout my selected text, Johnson focuses on the church along with the subsequent androcentric image of God, and how it impacts woman around the world. She explains that throughout history, with the help of the church’s patriarchal nature and society’s values as a whole, woman have been seen “as a ‘defective male’…that must live in obedience to her [male counterpart,]…[ and who are often also referred to as the] ‘second sex’” (Johnson 92). This

“I’m a woman…Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” This quote from Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman” characterizes the common theme between the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the speech, “Ain’t I a Woman”, by Sojourner Truth, and “Phenomenal Woman”. The common theme between these three different pieces is the idea of a strong, independent woman, which ties into feminism and the concept of being equal to men. Even though these three pieces are each diverse genres, they are all conveying the same general theme in their own way. Throughout any of these texts, it is evident that the authors are pushing the idea that a female is not inferior to any man just because they have a different body structure or a different gender.

made for the man, and by the Creators law owing a subordination to him, so she may also

In the Hebrew Bible, a significant section where this idea can be seen is in the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve, specifically in Genesis 4. When Eve is manipulated to eat the forbidden fruit, it poses the idea that the suffering of humankind was caused by a woman, showing the idea that woman react without consideration or senselessly, when really Eve was only acting on a very human trait, curiosity. When Eve convinces Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, one of gods punishment to Eve is “Your man shall be your longing, and rule over you” (p.97). Or when God describes Eve as “his woman”, God is essentially saying she is not her own independent person and is meant to be owned by men. This passage alone shows that women are viewed as people that were meant to be controlled; that men were always meant to be above them.

‘Then God created woman, also, and in the same image, but with these differences, according to her nature: her voice should be of higher pitch than man’s: she should grow no beard she should have two breasts…’

Woman, the most deprived group of humans, is the architect of civilization, the centre of the family, the protector of the house, the inspiration and strength of man on every front, who shaped the purpose of human race. She has proved that she is not weak, brittle and delicate, though physically weak yet spiritually

He says that one cannot keep a certain sex bound by a stereotype, on the basis of their nature, when nature, in this sense, is biased to what is known and allowed by society. "Custom [...] however universal, affords no presumption and ought not to create any prejudice, in favour [sic] of woman's subjection to man" (Pyle 89). What is considered a woman's nature is not a well-rounded viewpoint because it does not allow for the differences that might occur if situations were different.

Women are typically degraded as those who are lowly and aid the purpose of serving men, and bearing children. “The female contains all qualities and tempers them, She is in her place and moves with perfect balance, She is all things duly veil’d, she is both passive and active, She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters” (Whitman).

In “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” she stated that women were treated as if looks were the only thing important. Many women were not very educated and when beauty fades they are left uneducated and old. Women are not treated as well as men only thought of as objects of lust. They are treated as less than men because they are physically weaker than them. The fact that men are physically stronger than women is the only thing that is justified as true. Men and women did not really completely understand each other. Men thought of themselves as better than women and they did not want women who were educated. They did not think of them as wives or mothers but as just a woman not like the rest of them. She sees that man is her counterpart and respects them as part of the human race but with women being stripped of many of their rights that things are not equal

What is female sexuality? Female sexuality encompasses a broad range of topics, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual aspects of sex. This is not a subject that has recently been viewed as a topic of interest. This subject has been under scrutiny for many centuries. To discuss sexuality is

the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man

A man is the image of God thus reflects his glory that is then shown by their woman.

Only then can we engage in mutual dialogue that does not reduce each one of us to instances of the abstraction called woman. (Ibid. 30)

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