Beauvoir and The Second Sex : Feminism, Race, and the Origins of Existentialism

Describing the origins of Beauvoir's existential philosophy, this text aims to show her contribution to 20th-century thought and her influence in laying the foundations of radical feminisim. The guide also addresses feminist issues of racism, motherhood and lesbian identity.

In a compelling chronicle of her search to understand Beauvoir''s philosophy in The Second Sex, Margaret A. Simons offers a unique perspective on BeauvoirOs wide-ranging contribution to twentieth-century thought. She details the discovery of the origins of Beauvoir''s existential philosophy in her handwritten diary from 1927; uncovers evidence of the sexist exclusion of Beauvoir from the philosophical canon; reveals evidence that the African-American writer Richard Wright provided Beauvoir with the theoretical model of oppression that she used in The Second Sex; shows the influence of The Second Sex in transforming Sartre''s philosophy and in laying the theoretical foundations of radical feminism; and addresses feminist issues of racism, motherhood, and lesbian identity. Simons also draws on her experience as a WomenOs Liberation organizer as she witnessed how women used The Second Sex in defining the foundations of radical feminism. Bringing together her work as both activist and scholar, Simons offers a highly original contribution to the renaissance of Beauvoir scholarship.