Simone De Beauvoir's If

Life is all about balance. For example, positive and negative, left and right, up and down. In this case, men and women. Men and women are definitely not the same. They were created differently for the sole purpose of counteracting each other and should therefore not be treated in the same way. Treating them equally is not possible because they both have unique qualities and abilities. The society’s interpretation of a man is outlined in a highly accurate manner in Rudyard Kipling’s “If”. According to Rudyard, a man overcomes all odds and despite the challenges, is able to rise to the occasion. But above all else, the most important elements of a man are pride, confidence and self-esteem. It does not matter if the man is doing well for himself or not. What matters is that the man does not doubt himself and does not fear …show more content…
Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” is in sync with that statement. But after more than seventy five years, this piece of writing is clearly outdated because the definition of a woman has changed drastically, but is still in the wrong direction. A more correct reference would be Jacques-Louis David’s “Oath of the Horatii”. For a long time, men by default are supposed to risk their lives in battle and be the brave and fearless one (more active), while the women are supposed stay away from the fighting and take care of the house (more passive). The most accurate reference to modern day’s women would be Maya Angelou’s “And Still I Rise”, where even though women consider themselves proud and influential they always seek the approval of a man, even though they don’t need it. No matter how much injustice is being done to a man, if he stands up for himself, he is labelled a bigot. He always has to live up to the expectations of women. On the other hand, it is a woman’s right to stand up for herself, regardless if she is subjected to sexism or