De Beauvoir makes the point that the first thing she cognizes when she thinks of herself is that she is a woman. She is also right that males do not do this: my first thought is, though maybe slightly revealing here, is that I am intelligent. (This is no claim of pomp and arrogance; I am no genius) I am left wondering why the discrepancy? Also, is this healthy for women to do, or should we, as a society attempt to move to a place where gender is more irrelevant?
Knowing little enough about this, I am assuming that it is actually the oppression of women that begot this tendency for Beauvoir to think of herself as such. It would not be as irrelevant if men did not spend so much of history attempting to subjugate them.
I do not know if it is healthy though. I want to arrive at a place where gender is both irrelevant and yet there are some important differences between men and women. As long as women can give birth and men cannot, gender will never be irrelevant.
Note an important parallel between your self-perception of your intelligence and many/most women's self-perception of their femininity; both of these have been shaped by alterity. You know your intelligence through observing others and through being told; women perceive their femininity through similar ways. However, while your self-perception of your intelligence has important benefits for you, women's perception of themselves as women first may not, since it's just a physical reality.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I can tell I've been reading too much Beauvoir because I am swinging around semicolons all the time now; this is a problem.
Nay, the use of semicolons becomes an issue only when they are gratuitous; this is an example.
ReplyDeleteIn essence, I agree with you, but am expanding my thoughts for another post. See above :)