Beauvoir: The Reciprocity Of Man-Woman

Some of Beauvoir ideas originate from Uriel's’ Report where she quotes “ A man’s body has meaning by itself, disregarding the body of the women, whereas the woman’s body seems devoid of meaning without reference to the male,” and “Woman does not think herself without a man.” Her logic includes “His is the subject; he is the Absolute. She is the Other.” (6) A fundamental concept of Other is a reciprocity of self, not exclusive to gender. This exchange is apparent in “primitive societies, in the most ancient mythologies, No group ever defines itself as One without immediately setting up of the Other opposite itself.” (6) Sun-Moon, Day-Night, Good-Evil, God-Lucifer, Yin-Yang, Man-Woman are a few examples. However, a unique element to this reciprocity of Man-Woman is a degree of oppression that appears between man and woman. In Beauvoir introduction she says, “If I want to define myself, I first have to say, ‘I am a woman’; all other assertions will arise from this fundamental …show more content…
A man never begins by positing himself as an individual of a particular sex: that he is a man is obvious” (Beauvoir, 5) In an interview, Beauvoir states from birth a mother feeds each gender differently, training them to perceive themselves