deBeauvoir_SecondSexMyth&Reality

Chapter III: Myth and Reality

The Myth of Woman

• Significance in Literature and Daily Life

  • The myth of woman significantly influences social customs and personal conduct.

  • Examines the relationships between the myth and reality.

• Types of Myths

  • The myth of woman is a static myth reflecting the duality of human existence (man vs. woman).

  • Projects an immutable reality that represents the Eternal Feminine, characterized as

    • Timeless

    • Unchangeable

    • Absolute truth beyond experiential fact.

  • Contradictions in behavior of real women suggest they are wrong in relationship to the myth, not the myth being flawed.

Relations Between Men and Women

• Reciprocity Vs. Mythical Thought

  • Actual relationships between men and women involve complex dynamics of love, desire, struggle, and recognition.

  • The myth reduces women to a concept of the Other without acknowledging their personhood.

• Incompatibility of Myths

  • Myths around women tend to summarize their existence but also contradict and confuse due to their intrinsic ambivalence.

  • Examples include:

    • The Praying Mantis

    • The Muse

    • The Goddess Mother

Societal Views and Categories

• Definitions through Antonyms

  • Mythical representations of women use opposing pairs (e.g., saintly mother vs. cruel stepmother).

  • Cultural and societal needs dictate the projection of these myths onto femininity, molding perceptions based on the historical period.

• Gender Roles and Economic Relationships

  • Patriarchal frameworks restrict women's roles to domestic spaces, often as their means of influence (through attraction or manipulation).

  • Economic dynamics shape gender relations, with men typically seen in powerful roles while women navigate social expectations under constraints.

The Nature of Myths and their Real Implications

• Differentiating Myth from Significance

  • Significance arises from lived experiences while myths offer transcendental ideas that escape reality.

• Examination of Feminine Flesh

  • Realities of physical experiences (e.g., menstrual blood) contrast sharply with abstract mythical interpretations.

  • Mythologizing feminine experience diminishes the actual lived realities of women.

The Utility of Myths for Patriarchal Society

• Advantages of Feminine Mystery

  • The myth of feminine mystery grants men ease in rationalizing their misunderstandings of women.

  • Maintains a perpetual negative relation wherein women remain enigmatic to men, enhancing male vanity.

• Illusion of Woman as a Mystery

  • The concept of a mysterious woman is linked to male ignorance and power dynamics.

  • Both genders experience a veneer of mystery shaped by societal expectations and roles.

Economic and Social Dimensions

• Economic Dependencies Create Enigmas

  • Women's dependent positions in society contribute to their perceived mystery, further distancing them from being seen as equals.

  • The myth of women allows men to maintain established privileges by justifying societal norms through false narratives.

• Myth’s Role in Justifying Male Privilege

  • Myths serve to reinforce the status quo and provide a narrative that alleviates men’s responsibilities toward women’s challenges.

Conclusion: Breaking Down Myths

• Moving Towards an Authentic Relation

  • Recognizing women as full human beings allows for richer interpersonal experiences devoid of mythic idealization.

  • Future relationships should be based on acknowledgement of mutual subjectivity, rather than archaic narratives.

• Call for Change

  • Advocates for societal acceptance of a dual view of women as both autonomous individuals and embodiments of femininity.

  • Need for men to re-evaluate their perspectives, fostering a middle ground for gender relations.

Chapter III: Myth and Reality

The Myth of Woman

• Influence: The myth significantly shapes social customs and personal conduct, creating a duality (man vs. woman).

• Characteristics: Represents the Eternal Feminine as timeless, unchangeable, and an absolute truth, contradicting real women's behaviors.

Relations Between Men and Women

• Complex Dynamics: Actual interactions are laden with love, desire, and struggle, while myths simplify women as the Other.

• Incompatibility of Myths: Myths create contradictions, e.g., The Praying Mantis, The Muse, The Goddess Mother, influenced by societal needs.

Gender Roles and Economic Relationships

• Patriarchal Limitations: Women are confined to domestic roles, while men dominate in economic power.

• Myth vs. Reality: Myths serve patriarchal interests, obscuring the real experiences of women and reinforcing male privilege by justifying social norms.

Conclusion: Call for Change

• Authentic Relations: Moving towards recognizing women as full human beings promotes richer interactions.

• Need for Change: Advocates for a dual view of women, encouraging men to revise their perspectives for improved gender relations.

Daily Question

2/10/25: How do you know what is true about yourself?

• discover oneself in new circumstances

• hard truths/ brute facts

• repeated experiences

• gut instincts/ listening to your body

• inborn predispositions

  • self-awareness

de Beauvoir (day BO-vwah): What does it mean to exist without an essence?

background

• lived in France mid 20th century

• educated

• companion to john paul (another writer)

  • life long

• very cliver and original philosopher

• published in 49

• gave way to second wave feminism

reading notes

• phenomenology: examination of contexts of conciuos experience

  • what comes to your mind when you think of something

  • lived experiences as a particular existent (it will shape how you see things)

  • “existence precedes essence”

  • there is an idea of womanhood that is timeless

• identity is a product of biology, culture, and own autonomy

  • what does this category mean to you?

  • how do you assuirt what you are with all of these categories that exist

  • oppressive forms of identity reducse subjectivity to mere category

    • origins for classism/ racism

    • if you think of people in these categories, you dont have to talk to them because you already know everything about them

    • reduction of transcendence to immanence

      • how are we evaluating the sigifcants of a person and their preferences

      • idea of tranceendece: ideas of projects, intrents , goals, dreams)

      • immanence: everdayness, mere functionaning

    • myths allow one to overwrite and ignore the experiences of “others”

• who is “other” is determined by social relations

  • do you see someone from a different place as the other or someone who is not following the norms of the community

  • if you are able to caraterize people as the “other” they dont neccasaryly have a voice