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born, but rather becomes, a woman.
Simone de Beauvoir
In her famous quotation from The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir challenges the notion that biology is destiny, and one's sex determines one's character. Although males and females may possess different physical characteristics, the interpretation of those characteristics is cultural in nature. For example, women menstruate -- this is a biological fact. However, the social interpretation of this fact, that women are somehow inferior to men because they menstruate, is a product of culture. Different cultural notions are imposed upon the sexes from a very early age, in both explicit and subtle ways. A boy may be told not to cry when he falls down playing soccer; a girl may be praised for loving pink. However, over time, these messages come to shape the human personality and because human beings are social animals, such gender-related pressures are difficult to resist. This becomes particularly true in adolescence, when there is pressure upon young men and women to find a partner.
Although both the social shaping of men and women affects their developing psyches, De Beauvoir believed that for women, the social strictures were particularly onerous. In the case of middle-class women, gender assumptions tied women to the home and rendered them economically dependent upon males. Women were told they 'could not work,' at least not at occupations that were given the same social prestige as males. Of course, there were many social fictions behind such assertions. Lower-class women worked -- and worked very hard, as if they were somehow not deemed 'women.' And the fact that there were so many class and race-based assumptions within the construction of 'womanhood' highlights how the feminization process is an imposition, rather than something natural. Is a middle-class woman who does not work more of a woman than her lower-class maid? De Beauvoir suggests that in the narrow definitions of sexuality…
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SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR quote false. In, source-based literature, current events, personal experience, film; support criticize relevant theme. Simone De Beauvoir Quote: " The reason women lack concrete means organizing a unit stand face corrective unit." The Second Sex by philosopher Simone de Beauvoir emerged in 1949 in France, as a 700-page plea for the liberation of women. In its introduction, the author states "that women lack concrete means for organizing
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Nietzsche's Woman is by turns simply a reflection of common attitudes of the time, although he occasionally sees her in a more sympathetic view. In a modern light, the understanding of Nietzsche's philosophy has often been tainted by the view of his writings as racist and misogynist. Indeed, a cursory look shows that Nietzsche's perception of women is largely negative and unflattering. Nonetheless, the great philosopher is sometimes clearly sympathetic
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Moreover, in addition to narrowing the purview of human sexuality to groups within the larger society, the sociocultural aspect examines social norm influences including the effects of external factors such as mass media or politics. These movements can assist in bring about significant and widespread changes in the social norm, such as the sexual revolution and the advent of feminism. Overview of Theory and Practice Theories regarding gender and sexuality date
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In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a
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" James a.S. McPeek further blames Jonson for this corruption: "No one can read this dainty song to Celia without feeling that Jonson is indecorous in putting it in the mouth of such a thoroughgoing scoundrel as Volpone." Shelburne asserts that the usual view of Jonson's use of the Catullan poem is distorted by an insufficient understanding of Catullus' carmina, which comes from critics' willingness to adhere to a conventional -- yet incorrect
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Great Gatsby -- a Theoretical Analysis The Great Gatsby is one of the legendary novels written in the history of American literature. The novel intends to shed light on the failure of American dream that poor can attain whatever he wants and emphasizes on the hardships presented by the strong forces of social segregation. In order to understand this novel, there are various theories which tend to be helpful in order