Text B The Second Sex（第1页）

TextBTheSedSex

SimonedeBeauvoir

Pre-reading

SimonedeBeauvoir（1908-1986）wasaFrenchwriterandsocialactivist，ahemostiialfemisofthe20thtury。Beauvotadegreeinphilosophyin1929fromtheéaleSuperiéureandtheSorboJean-PaulSartretobeginafree，lifelongassowithhim。BeauvoirandSartreremainedinParisduringWorldWarⅡ，aiveiaagainsttheGermano。DuriheyrefiheprinciplesofExistentialism。AfterthewarBeauvoirbeittedwriter，herwritingsingtheheMandarins（LesMandarins1954）whichreceivedthePrixGonciousFrenchliteraryaward。ShecollaboratedwithSartreoidliteraryjourempsmoderimes）ahhimthroughoutEurope，AsiaandAmerica。BeauvoirisknownprimarilyforhertreatiseTheSedSex（Ledeuxièmesexe1949），ascholarlyandpassioheabolitionofwhatshecalledthemythofthe“eternalfemibecameaiureduringthe1960s，aialanalysisofthesituatioremelyiialiioheory。Iingssherevealedherselfasawomanofformidabledihebasisofanindividualmadeonthepremisesofanequalvoanandwomanfoundedonaonstructure，iheirsexuality。Forthisandmanyothers，shehasofteoas“Grahturyfeminism。

Promptsf

1。Afterreadihs，makeaprediforthepossibletheauthhtetointhefollraphs。

2。Howwouldyouehor’stoudetowardthequestionssheraisedintheopeningparagraphs?

3。Ihequestionof“whatisawomahorg-standiasfrommehemselves，greatthinkersorsdeventheBible。Locatethesedfiicalremarksoftheauthor。

4。Listupthosemythiitions”ofwomenfrommeive。

&horasksthequestions:Whyisitthatwomendonotdisputemalesnty?Whehissubmissioninthean?Readcarefullyfortheahesequestions。

&yiyisnotunoweengroupsofpeople，bladwhite，poorandriativeac。Butwhatisdistinguishinglyspecialaboutiybetweenmanand>

[1]FtimeIhavehesitatedtowriteabookonwomaisirritatiowomen;anditisnotnew。Enoughinkhasbeenspilledinquarrellingoverfeminism，andperhapsweshouldsay。Itisstilltalkedabout，however，forthevolumiereddurituryseemstohavedooillumiheproblem。Afterall，isthereaproblem?Andifso，whatisit?Aretherewomen，really?Mostassuredlythetheoryoftheeternalfemiillhasitsadherentshisperinyourear:“EveninRussiawomenstillarewomen”;aepersoheverysame—saywithasigh:“Womanislosingherway，womanislost。”Onewondersifwome，iftheywillalwaysexist，whetherornotitisdesirablethattheyshould，lacetheyothislaceshouldbe。“Whathasbeen?”wasaskedreanephemeralmagazine。

[2]Butfirstwemustask:whatisawoman?“Totamulierinutero，”saysone，“womanisawomb2。”Butinspeakiainwomen，oisseurs3declarethattheyarehoughtheyareequippedwithauterus4liketherest。Allagreeinregthefactthatfemalesexistinthehumaodayasalwaystheymakeupaboutonehalfofhumanity。Aoldthatfemininityisindanger;weareexhortedtobewomen，remainwomen，been。Itear，then，thateveryfemalehumanbeingisnotnecessarilyawoman;tobesosideredshemustshareinthatmysteriousaeyky。Isthisattributesomethiheovaries5?OrisitaPlatonice，aproductofthephilosophiatipettiitdowhoughsomewomeoihisesseishardlypateisfrequentlydesvagueanddazzliseemtohavebeehevocabularyoftheseers，ahetimesofSt。Thomasitwassideredaaihesomueofthepoppy。

[3]Butceptualismhaslostground。Thebiologidsoittheexistengeablyfixededetermieristics，suchasthoseasaheNegro。Sceregardsanycharacteristicasareadepeinpartuponasituation。Iftodayfemininitys，theed。Butdoesthewordwoman，then，havenospetent?Thisisstoutlyaffirmedbythosewhoholdtothephilosophyofthee，ofrationalism，ofnominalism6;women，tothem，aremerelythehumanbeingsarbitrarilydesighewordwoman。ManyAmerienparticularlyarepreparedtothinkthatthereisnolongeranyplaanassuch;ifabadividualstilltakesherselfforawoman，herfrieobepsyalyzedaridofthisobsessiardtoawork，ModernWomaSex，whiotherrespectshasitsirritatihyParker7haswritten:“Iotbejusttobookswhianaswoman。。。Myideaisthatallofus，menaswellaswomen，shardedashumanbeings。”Butnominalismisaratheririheashavehadnotroubleinshowingthatwomensimplyarenotmen。Surelywomanis，likeman，ahumasuchadeisabstract。Thefactisthateverycretehumanbeingisalwaysasieindividual。Todeetoacceptsusastheeterheblacksoul，theJewishcharaottodenythatJews，Negroes，womeoday—thisderepreseionforthoseed，butratheraflightfromreality。Soariterrefusedtopermitherportraittoappeariographsespeciallydevotedtowomenwriters;shewishedtobeoiogainthisprivilegeshemadeuseofherhusband’sinflueneheyaremenlayethelesstomassideratio。IrecallalsoayoungTrotskyite8standingonaplatformataboisterousmeetiiouseherfists，inspiteofherevidentfragilityshewasdenyingherfeminiitwasforloveofamilitantmalewhoseequalshewishedtobe。Theattitudeofdefianerieheyarehauntedbyaseheirfemininity。Intruth，togoforawalkwithone’seyesopeodemohumanityisdividedintotwoclassesofindividualswhoseclothes，failes，gaits，is，andoalydifferehesedifferencesaresuperficial，perhapstheyaredestiodisappear。Whatisisthattheydomostobviouslyexist。

[4]Ifherfungasafemaleisodefinewoman，ifwedeealsotoexplaihrough“theeternalfeminine”，ahelessrovisionally，thatwomehefacethequestion“whatisa>

[5]Tostatethequestionis，tome，tosuggest，atonce，aprelimihefactthatIaskitisinitselfsignifit。AmaouttowriteabookonthepeculiarsituationofthehumaifIwishtodefinemyself，Imustfirstofallsay:“Iamawoman”;onthistruthmustbebasedallfurtherdisanneverbegiinghimselfasanindividualofasex;itgoeswithoutsayingthatheisamaermsmasdfeminirilyasamatterofform，asonlegalpapers。Inactualitytherelatiowosexesishatoftwoelectricalpoles，formahthepositivearal，asisiheoodesignatehumanbeingsingeneral;whereasresentsoive，definedbylimitihoutreciprothemidstofanabstractdisitisvexingtohearamansay:“Youthinkthusandsobecauseyouareawoman”;butIknowthatmyooreply:“Ithinkthusaistrue”，therebyremovingmysubjectiveselffrument。Itwouldbeoutofthequestiontoreply:“Andyouthirarybean”，foritisuhatthefagamay。Amanisiinbeingaman;itisthewomanwhoisinthewrong。Itamountstothis:justasfortheaherewasaicalwithrefereowhichtheobliquewasdefihereisaype，themasanhasovaries，auterus:thesepeculiaritiesimprisonheriivity，circumscribeherwithisofherowisoftensaidthatshethinkswithherglands。Mansuperblyighathisanatomyalsoincludesglands，suchasthetestidthattheyseohinksofhisbodyasadirealhichhebelievesheappreheively，whereasheregardsthebodyofwomanasahindrance，aprison，weigheddowhioit。“Thefemaleisafemalebyvirtueofalackofqualities，”saidAristotle，“weshardthefemalenatureasafflictedwithaiveness。”AndSt。Thomasforhispartproobeaman”，aal”being。ThisissymbolizedinGenesiswhereEveisdepictedasmadefromwhatBossuetcalled“asupernumerarybone”ofAdam。

[6]Thushumanityismaleandmandefineswomanasrelativetohim;sheisnardedasanautonomousbei10writes:“Womaivebeing。。。”AndBenda11ismostpositiveinhisRapportd’Uriel:“Thebodyofmaselfquiteapartfromthatofwomahelatterseemswantinginsigself。。。Mankofhimselfwithoutwomahihoutman。”Andsheissimplywhatmahussheiscalled“thesex”，bywhitthatsheappearsessentiallytothemaleasasexualbeing。Forhimsheissex—absolutesex，noless。Sheisdefinedaedwithrefereomanahrefereoher;sheistheiheiialasopposedtotheesseheSubject，heistheAbsolute—sheistheOther。

[7]ThecategoryoftheOtherisasprimordialasessitself。Iprimitivesocieties，iahologies，oheexpressionofaduality—thatoftheSelfahisdualitywasninallyattachedtothedivisionofthesexes:iteuponanyempiricalfacts。ItisrevealedinsuchworksasthatofGra12oandthoseofDumézil13oIndiesahefemifirstnomoreinvolvedinsuchpairsasVaruna-Mitra14，Uranus15-Zeus，Sun-Moon，andDay-NightthanitwasisbetweenGoodandEvil，luluckyauspices，righta，Godahernessisafuegoryofhumanthought。

[8]ThusitisthatsitselfupastheOatoiheraihreetravelerscetooccupythesameent，thatisenoughtomakevaguelyhostile“others”outofalltherestofthepassehetrain。Insmall-toersoothevillageare“strangers”ahenativeofatryallwhoinhabitothertriesare“fners”;Jewsare“differei-Semite，Negroesare“inferior”forAmeriracists，abiives”forists，proletariahe“lowerclass”fed。

[9]Lévi-Strauss17，attheendofaprofoundworkonthevariousformsofprimitivesocieties，reachesthefollowing:“PassagefromthestateofhestateofCultureismarkedbyman’sabilitytoviewbiologicalrelationsasaseriesoftrasts;duality，alternation，opposition，aherueueforms，stitutenotsomuenatobeexplainedasfualaelygivendataofsocialreality。”ThesephenomenawouldbeinprehensibleifinfasocietyweresimplyaMitsein18orfellowshipbasedonsolidarityandfriehingsbeethetrary;if，followingHegel，wefindinessitselfafuilitytowardseveryotheress;thesubjebeposedonlyinbeingopposed—hesetshimselfupastheessential，asopposedtotheother，theiheobject。

[10]Buttheotheress，theo，setsupare。Theravelingabroadisshoselfinturnregardedasa“strahenativesofneighbtries。Asamatteroffact，wars，festivals，tradiies，asamoions，aodeprivetheceptOtherofitsabsoluteseomakemasrelativity;willy-nilly，individualsandgroupsareforcedtorealizethereciprocityoftheirrelations。Howisit，then，thatthisreciprohesexes，thatoingtermsissetupasthesoleessential，denyiyioitscorrelativeahelatteraspureotherness?Whyisitthatwomendonotdisputemalesnty?willreadilyvoluobeetheobjeessential;itisherwho，indefiheOther，establishestheOherisposedassuchbytheOneindefiheOiftheOtherishestatusofbeibesubmissiveenoughtoacceptthisalienpointofview。Whehissubmissioninthean?

[11]Thereare，tobesure，otherwhichacategoryhasbeeodomiherpletelyforatime。Veryoftenthisprivilegedependsupoyofhemajorityimposesitsruleupoyorpersecutesit。Butwomeaminority，liketheAmeriegroesortheJews;thereareasmanywomeh。Agaiwogroupsedhaveoftenbeeni;theymayhavebeenformerlyunawareofeachother’sexisteheyreizedeachother’sautonomy。Butahistorithasresultediionoftheweakerbythestroeriheintroduofslaveryihequestsofimperialismareexamplesinpoint。Iheoppressedretaihememoryofformerdays;theypossessedinonapast，atraditioimesareligionoraculture。

[12]Theparalleldrawweeheproletariatisvalidihereverformedaminorityoraseparatecolleitofmankind。Andinsteadofasiorititisinbothcasesahistorieheirstatusasadabershipofpartidividualsinthatclass。Butproletariaalwaysexisted，whereastherehavealwaysbeeheyarewomeniheiranatomyandphysihouthistorytheyhavealwaysbeensubordiomeheirdependenottheresultofahistoritorasoge—itwashatoccurred。Thereasonwhyotherhiscaseseemstobeanabsoluteisinpartthatitlacksthetoriureofhistoricalfaditihtaboutatatimebeabolishedatsomeothertime，astheiandothershaveproved:butitmightseemthatnaturalisbeyondthepossibilityoftruth，however，thehingsisablygiven，onceforall，thanishistoricalreality。Ifwomaobetheiialwhieverbeestheessential，itisbecausesheherselffailstaboutthisge。Proletarianssay“We”;Negroesalsthemselvesassubjects，theytransformthebeois，thewhites，iwomendonotsay“We”，exeinistsorsimilarformaldemonstration;mensay“women”，ahesamewtothemselves。Theydoicallyassumeasubjectiveattitude。Theproletarianshaveaplishedthe“revolutioninRussia，thei，theIlingforitinIndo-a;butthewomehashihanasymbolicagitation。Theyhavegainedonlywhatmenhavebeenwillingtograakennothing，theyhaveonlyreceived。”

[13]Thereasonforthisisthatwomenlaeansfthemselvesintoaunitwhistaofacewiththecorrelativeunit。Theyhavenopast，nohistionoftheirown;andtheyhavenosuchsolidarityofworkahatoftheproletariat。TheyarenotevenpromiscuetheriunityfeelingamongtheAmeriegroes，theghettoJews，theworkersofSaihefadsofRenault。Theylivedispersedamongthemales，attachedthroughresidence，housework，eidition，andsodiaihersorhusbahaherwomen。Iftheybelongteoisie，theyfeelsolidaritywithmenofthatotwithproletariaheyarewhite，theirallegiaowhitemen，nottoheproletariatassacretherulingdasuffitlyfanatiightdreamofgettingsolepossessioomiakinghumanitywhollyJewishorblaanoteveermihebondthatuoheroppressorsisnotparabletoahedivisionofthesexesisabiologicalfaeventinhumanhistory。MaleaahinaprimordialMitsein，andwomanhashecoupleisafuywithitstwohalvesrivetedtogether，andthecleavageofsogthelineofsexisimpossible。HereistobefouraitofwomaheOtherinatotalityofwhiposareooher

。。。。

[14]Now，womanhasalwaysbee，ifnothisslave;thetwosexeshaveneversharedtheworldiy。Aodaywomanisheavilyhahoughhersituatiooge。Almostnowhereisherlegalstatusthesameasman’s，aismuchtoherdisadvantage。Evesarelegallyreizedi，long-standingpreventstheirfullexpressioniheeicspheremenandwomenalmostbesaidtomakeuptwocastes;sbeiheformerholdthebetterjobs，gethigherwages，andhavemoreopportunityforsutheirors。Inindustryandpolitihaveagreatmaionsandtheymoimportantposts。Inadditiontoallthis，theyenjoyatraditiethattheeduofteosupport，forthepresentehepast—aallhistoryhasbeenmadebymetime，whenwinniintheaffairsoftheworld，itisstillaworldthatbeloheyhavenodoubtofitatallandwomenhavesy。TodeetobetheOther，torefusetobeapartytothedeal—thiswouldbeforwomentoreheadvantagesferredupoheiralliahesuperior-the-snwillprovidewomahmaterialprotedwilluhemoraljustifiofherexistehussheevadeatoheidthemetaphysicalriskofalibertyinwhidaimsmustbetrivedwithoutassistandeed，alongwiththeethicalurgeofeadividualtoaffirmhissubjectiveexistehereisalsothetemptatiolibertyahing。Thisisaninauspiciousroad，forhewhotakesit—passive，lost，ruined—beeshehecreatureofanother’swill，frustratedinhistransddeprivedofeveryvalue。Butitisaneasyroad;ohestraininvolvediakingaimanmakesofwomaher，hemay，theomaedteolicity。Thus，womanmayfailtolayclaimtothestatusofsubjectbecauseshelaiteresources，becauseshefeelsthenecessarybondthattieshertardlessofreciprodbecausesheisoftenverywellpleasedwithherroleastheOther。

Notes

&erheeternalfeminineisapsychologicalarchetypeorphilosophiciplethatidealizesanimmutablean”。Itisoofgeialism，thebeliefthatmenandwomenhavedifferentcore“esseotbealteredbytimeore。

2。womb:子宫

3。oisseur:aoappreciateafield;espethefis

4。uterus:子宫

5。ovaries:卵巢

6。nominalism:thedoethatthevariousobjectslabeledbythesametermhavenothinginonbuttheirname

7。DorothyParker:（1893-1967）Ameriwriternotedforhersharpwit

8。Trotskyite:radicalswhosupportTrotsky’stheorythatsocialismmustbeestablishedthroughouttheworldbygrevolution

&icles:睾丸