The Second Sex

Following the introduction, Beauvoir examines three possible sources of explanations for why women are subordinate to men: biology, psychoanalysis, and the Marxist view of history. Beauvoir begins by giving an overview of what the biological science of her day says about reproduction and gender. First, she notes how modern biological discoveries have shown that sexes and sexual reproduction are not universal to life. For example, amoeba reproduce asexually, by splitting into two new amoebae.

Before such scientific advancements, ancient philosophers did believe sexual differentiation was universal. Further, it was believed until the 19th century that women simply incubated the seed. Since then, scientific discoveries concerning human reproduction have shown that men have less of a role in reproduction than previously thought.

Examining what science has learned about reproduction among mammals, Beauvoir writes that male mammals often abandon their young to protect the entire group. Meanwhile, a female mammal after giving birth “abdicates” her individuality “for the benefit of the species that demands this abdication” (36). This is an important point for Beauvoir. Although she argues femininity is constructed by society, she does also believe that women are limited in important ways by their reproductive functions. Men do not share these restrictions men.