The Second Sex [Paperback]

A previous review has noted some weaknesses in this translation, which I think are a bit one sided. Cetainly, Toril Moi raises some valid points in her critique of this translation - however, I think these are stylistic issues and translator's preferences. Indeed, there is rarely a "true" translation of a book, and opinions will always differ as to their quality. What I will say is that this book is infinitely better than the first translation, especially with its use of philosophical/existentialist terminology.

I gave this book five stars because I think it is so much better than the original translation. Even though the translators may have made poor choices in parts, they have also restored a great deal of the book that was previously inaccessible in English editions. As to the criticism about the style of the book, I must disagree. I think the book is extremely readable, and had no trouble reading through in its entirety.

Moving briefly away from the translation on to the content, this is a must have book for anyone interested not only in feminism, but also existentialism more generally. This book is for both men and women seeking to live an authentic (gendered) life. As a piece of history it is also important. Though the ideas presented her may no longer seem revolutionary, they were when this book was written. Of course, parts of the book have not aged well as science has advanced, but it does not detract from the greatness of the book.

French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir argues in her book Le deuxième sexe (1949:13) that gender is a social construct: "On ne naît pas femme: on le devient. Aucun destin biologique, psychique, économique ne définit la figure que revêt au sein de la société la femelle humaine; c'est l'ensemble de la civilisation qui élabore ce produit intermédiaire entre le mâle et le castrat qu'on qualifie de féminin. »[One is not born, but rather becomes a woman. No biological, pschological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine] [v].

De Beauvoir underscores the role played by prejudice in the oppression of women in contemporary societies. She points out that the key to understanding how girls develop as opposed to boys is to be found not in any "myth of the second sex" but in the manner of their upbringing in a society geared toward male supremacy. In other words, women consider themselves inferior because men regard them as such. Beauvoir offers her views on the subtle ways in which matrimony has often been made to work to the detriment of women. She perceives marriage as a male contraption to perpetuate gender inequality when she notes:« Le mariage s'est toujours présenté de manière radicalement différente pour l'homme et pour la femme. Les deux sexes sont nécessaires l'un à l'autre, mais cette nécessité n'a jamais engendré entre eux de réciprocité ; jamais les femmes n'ont constitué une caste établissant avec la caste mâle sur un pied d'égalité des échanges et des contrats. Socialement l'homme est un individu autonome et complet ....On a vu pour quelles raisons le rôle reproducteur et domestique dans lequel est cantonnée la femme ne lui a pas garanti une égale dignité. » (196) [Mariage has always been a very different thing for man and for woman. The two sexes are necessary to each other, but this necessity has never brought about a condition of reciprocity between them; women, as we have seen, have never constituted a caste making exchanges and contracts with the male caste upon a footing of equality. A man is socially an independent and complete individual .... We have seen why it is that the reproductive and domestic role to which woman is confined has not guaranteed her an equal dignity] [vi].

I argue along with De Beauvoir and other feminists that the second-class status to which women the world over have been confined is a social construct. I further contend that gender discourse needs to be revisited and debated around address issues that center on gender equality. Finally, I posit that the African woman, in particular, is in dire need of proper education in order to fight male oppression. It is my conviction that a woman's consciousness of her own femininity is to be defined under circumstances dependent on the society of which she is a member. Indeed, a major thesis of De Beauvoir's book is that all her life the woman is to find the magic of her mirror a tremendous help in her effort to assert herself in order to attain self-liberation. It is in the context of their natural differences that men and women must validate their commonality.

Dr. Peter Vakunta is a specialist in French and Francophone literatures.

The Borde and Malovany translation first appeared in 2010. Some of the reviews here, complaining about the translation, are about an earlier edition (translated by someone else). Among other corrections, the Borde and Malovany-Chevallier translation reinstates a large section - over 700 pages - that the original translator left out.