In her conclusion to the book The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir discusses the implications of women being treated in the manner as men. There are unavoidable biological differences between the two sexes, yet they are not adequate to justify the subsequent inferior status of women compared to men. If the biological side is not considered, a woman and femininity are entirely social constructs, which have been formed due to historical and cultural prerequisites.
As historically, boys and girls were raised separately with a certain priority given to male authority, it became a cultural norm that women are inherently different and subordinate. However, if upbringing based on gender differences is essential in the systematic and unconscious discrimination of women, then it is possible that teaching children the morality of gender equality will lead to a culture where both sexes are equal. It is reasonable to suggest that changing morality alters perception.
A culture of gender inequality results in women’s inferior status. However, not only men are responsible for the perception of male dominance. Many women themselves uphold these social constructs because they are not able to overcome the morality they were taught in childhood. Subsequently, had girls been consistently told that men are not inherently more dominant, they would not have asserted this viewpoint in their adult years themselves.
The current state of affairs is not the only one, which would allow women to build romantic relationships with men and value their position. Many men are anxious towards the emancipation of women, but these fears stem from their own insecurities. Liberating a woman will reinforce men as well because it will remove the pressure of having to constantly prove one’s masculinity from them. Equality between sexes is a pathway to reciprocity and harmony, which are not attainable in gender-biased cultures.
Work Cited
De Beauvoir, Simone, and Howard Madison Parshley. The Second Sex. United Kingdom, Vintage, 1997.