Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Work

The Second Sex

Nonfiction Prose

The Second Sex (Le Deuxieme Sexe), published in 1949, is Simone de Beauvoir's two volume philosophical and historical study of women's situation, arguing that femininity is not a biological given but a role constructed by society and imposed on women as the Other against a male norm treated as the default of humanity. It became a founding text of second wave feminist thought and remains Beauvoir's most influential and widely translated work.

Facts
Composed, From (Year)
1946 to 1949 1
Composed, From (Year)
from 1949 1
Classification
Original Language
French 1
Connections

Associated With

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Authored By

Source Simone de Beauvoir (Britannica)

In Genre

Sources
1. The Second Sex (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)
  • Introduction
    Beauvoir researched and wrote the book in about 14 months between 1946 and 1949.
  • Lead paragraph
    The Second Sex (French: Le Deuxième Sexe) is a 1949 book by the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, in which the author discusses the treatment of women in the present society as well as throughout all of history. Beauvoir researched and wrote the book in about 14 months between 1946 and 1949. She published the work in two volumes: Facts and Myths, and Lived Experience.
View the Source
Simone de Beauvoir (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Associated With: ExistentialismView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.