“One is not born, but rather becomes, woman”, said Simone De Beauvoir. Our gender, ambitions, and confidence are all constructed by standards established by society. What is expected from us, what we should be aiming for in our lives. De Beauvoir ends her book The Second Sex with a chapter entitled “The Independent Woman”. Although written in 1949, this essay raises questions and issues that are still relevant today. The status of women has certainly improved since then, but gender equality has not yet been achieved, and today’s generation has something to learn from such a major feminist figure. De Beauvoir argues that man and woman are not given the same opportunities when they are children and this has a direct impact on their adulthood. This raises the questions: are women ever truly independent? The Independent Woman raises a few conflicts, but this article will focus on femininity and sexuality, on the inevitable inferiority complex, and finally on the category of women, which according to De Beauvoir, not affected as much by their femininity.  

 

De Beauvoir starts by addressing the subject of femininity, a concept, which is according to her, imposed on women and makes them “object and prey” (De Beauvoir 340). Because femininity is part of a woman’s sexuality, she cannot simply deny it. Just like men, women are sexual beings and ignoring this fact is the equivalent of discarding part of their humanity. However, since femininity is socially constructed by society, a woman is not free to adjust her femininity to her own satisfaction. Doing so is risking making her an outcast. At this point, femininity seems to be taking the shape of a poisoned chalice. Moreover, women are aware of the fact that, unlike men, they are judged and categorized by the way they look. And they benefit from taking care of their appearance, because women who focus more on their intellect will become less attractive to men or can even humiliate their husbands. 

 

A woman will most inevitably feel inferior to men, De Beauvoir argues. From a very young age, she claims, girls believe that boys are better than them and this belief explains why they did not succeed as well in school in the past. Their capacities are limited or so they think. This concept stays with them as they grow older, and when added to the fact that their appearance is supposedly more important than their intellect, women are not encouraged to be ambitious in their career. As De Beauvoir puts in, “woman is afraid that in attempting to go farther she will break her back” (350).  

 

According to De Beauvoir, there is one category of woman who is not affected by their femininity: the actresses, dancers and singers – the artists. Indeed, their capacity to express themselves artistically actually reinforces their femininity. Moreover, as De Beauvoir explains artists “are not torn between contradictory aspirations” (351). In fact, their achievements are reasons to feel validated as human beings. After all, their femininity is a convenience to their professional duties. However, this life choice is not without disadvantage. They are still part of a “masculine world” and they might still be motivated by a desire to get married, to have children. While not impossible, having both an artistic career and a successful marriage has not been proved to be easy. 

 

To conclude, even though more than 65 years have passed since Simone De Beauvoir has written the very important The Second Sex, some things have not changed. Women did acquire a level of independence that would not have been possible in the 1950s. However, the concept of femininity is still a complex one, and women’s sexuality is still a taboo. De Beauvoir raised issues that are still worth discussing today and bringing them into public dialogue could certainly help our involvement in gender equality.