Historical Context
The Second Wave of Feminism is a period that began in the 1950s and 1960s and is marked by the creation of a basic theory about the oppression of women. We can say that this is where the distinction between sex and gender begins.
And the person who wrote one of the most indispensable books to form this theoretical basis was none other than Simone de Beauvoir .
Youth
Simone studied at a private Catholic school until she was 17 and always excelled in her studies.
Her father, recognizing her above-average intelligence, used to say proudly: " Simone thinks like a man! "
She was an avid reader and it is said that one of the characters that inspired her was Jo March, from the book Little Women, who escaped the stereotype of the 19th century woman, as well as the work of Virginia Woolf.
Notable from an early age
Having studied Mathematics and Languages and Literature, she graduated in Philosophy from the University of Sorbonne at the age of 17.
At just 21 years old, she became the youngest person to pass the teachers' exam (agrégation) to be able to teach.
“The capital event of my existence”
That's how Simone once referred to Sartre. They had an unconventional, non-monogamous relationship with a mutual agreement on honesty.
They never had children and Simone described their relationship as intellectual. Their mutual influence on each other intellectual productions is notable.
The Second Sex
Beauvoir published The Second Sex , considered one of the most important publications of the 20th century, in 1949.
She said in an interview that she began writing as a work of intellectual investigation, but that she was happy that it had become an important instrument of activism.
The truth is that her book opened up philosophical spaces that were practically uninhabited until then.
“The personal is political!”
We can say that she anticipated the famous phrase of the feminist movement of the 60s that states that “the personal is political” by making reflection on the body a central theme regarding the condition of women.
The characteristic phrase of the Second Wave means that any social practice is likely to become a suitable topic for public reflection, discussion and expression.