A World Where Men and Women Would be Equal

A World Where Men and Women Would be Equal

How De Beauvoir Sees the Equality between Men and Women

De Beauvoir sees the equality between men and women as uniform based on the argument that “women and men would be raised and educated the same way, work under the same conditions, and receive the same salaries” (Beauvoir 856). However, it would be hard to achieve sameness because of the roles and responsibilities that society has defined for men and women and the ability of the two genders to complete those roles. For example, women have maternal instincts that enable them to raise children by understanding what the child needs, especially infants who cannot speak up and express themselves. Therefore, it would be hard to have sameness in the distribution of roles and responsibilities without compromising the well-being of those who depend on individual capabilities, such as children who depend on their mothers’ maternal capabilities. De Beauvoir also sees equality between men and women as uniform based on the underlying assumption that men are the same as women since they are all made of flesh, and the only distinguishing features are hormones and sexual orientation. However, women are not defined by their hormones and mysterious instincts but by how they apply foreign consciousness, their relation to the world, and their bodies in interpreting things. Therefore, achieving equality between women and men may be hard to achieve due to the premise that it is impossible to separate a woman from what she was made.

De Beauvoir’s View of This Complex Issue

De Beauvoir argues that achieving equality between men and women is complex because it would alter how roles are defined in society. She states, “Women would be obliged to provide another livelihood for themselves; marriage would be based on a free engagement that the spouses could break when they wanted to; motherhood would be freely chosen—that is, birth control and abortion would be allowed—and in return, all mothers and their children would be given the same rights” (Beauvoir 856). Based on this quotation, De Beauvoir implies that there are specific expectations put on women that are hard to change, thus making it hard to achieve equality between men and women. Breaking the expectations would lead to societal disorder because everyone would be free to do as they please. For instance, the freedom to break up a marriage disregards the perception of marriage as an institution. Allowing birth control and abortion, on the other hand, could lead to conflict between religious bodies and different groups supporting and objecting to the practices. De Beauvoir also argues that equality between men and women can be achieved by changing institutions, laws, customs, public opinion, and the entire social context because “woman, among others, is a product developed by civilization; the intervention of others in her destiny is originary: if this process were driven in another way, it would produce a very different result” (Beauvoir 856). Therefore, specific laws can alter customs, institutions, and public opinion to create a social context that allows equality between men and women.

The Extent to Which I Agree with De Beauvoir’s View

The complexities in determining whether equality between women and men can be reduced by focusing on the specific examples by De Beauvoir to demonstrate circumstances under which equality between men and women can be achieved. I agree with De Beauvoir’s view that women and men can become peers if societies change institutions, laws, customs, public opinion, and social context because the changes would influence behavior, creating a foundation for how men view women and vice versa. For example, laws and customs that allow women and men to access education and opportunities eliminate gender inferiority, thus allowing both genders to pursue the same opportunities. I also agree with De Beauvoir that achieving equality between men and women requires altering how roles are defined in society because there are specific roles that society has set aside for women and men, and the tradition is passed from one generation to another. For instance, in most societies, women are responsible for caring for their families, whereas men are required to provide for the family. The role of women in taking care of children is also evident in how organizations prioritize maternity leave for women and only a few offer paternal leave due to the underlying assumption that women should take care of the child while men work to provide for the child and the mother. Therefore, achieving equality between men and women will disrupt the structure of most societies and create new customs.

The Extent to Which Equality Should Be Linked To/Separated From Sameness

Equality should be separated from sameness by defining the scope of sameness and factors that should be considered in evaluating sameness. It is also essential to create awareness of the barriers to achieving sameness based on factors such as sexual orientation and the nature of women as defined by their foreign consciousness and unique instincts. Therefore, there should be a large gap between equality and sameness based on the distinguishing features between men and women, and the changes in laws, customs, institutions, social context, and public opinion cannot surpass. For example, the changes may achieve equality in the distribution of opportunities, but it may be hard to achieve equal distribution of responsibilities, especially in the family setting where childbearing and raising children are the primary responsibilities of women.

Works Cited

Beauvoir, S. D. “A World Where Men and Women Would be Equal.” The second sex, Everyman’s Library, 1993, pp. 856-863.

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Write a response of approximately 750 words in response to the question
* The goal is to respond to the author’s text with an argument of your own. However, don’t wander away from the author; link your own ideas to the text with specific references to the author’s ideas and quotations.

A World Where Men and Women Would be Equal

answering objections

*Does De Beauvoir see equality between men and women as a uniform “sameness”?
*Explain her view of this complex issue, using specific references to her text and brief quotations.
*Explain to what extent you agree or disagree with De Beauvoir’s view.
* To what extent should equality be linked to/ separated from sameness?
*You may use your own experience, observations, and hypothetical examples to illustrate your ideas. You can also refer to some of the other texts in the section on Gender (please cite them if you do).

*Please use proper MLA-style documentation. No outside research is expected, but you may use other sources if you provide documentation.

*In your essay, use 3-5 rhetorical terms discussed in the PowerPoint presentations. Please put them in bold. Here is a list:

1. underlying assumption
2. paradox
3. premise
4. irony
5. imply/ implication
6. infer/ inference
7. critical
8. sweeping generalization
9. either-or fallacy
10. hasty generalization
11. jumping to a conclusion
12. fallacies
13. complexities
14. analogy
15. extension of logic
16. specific example
17. abstract argument
18. definition
19. parallelism
20. rhetorical question
21. imagery
22. deductive reasoning
23. inductive reasoning
24. transitions
25. metaphor
26. evidence