“Another” person is a subordinate of others psychologically, physically, and emotionally. For one to become “another,” other people’s needs come before theirs. In Beauvoir’s introduction of The Second Sex, women are distinctively subordinate to men as a power play in the societal hierarchy for men to dominate. Beauvoir highlights the biblical account of how Eve came out of Adam’s rib, which proves that women are a piece of men. The Bible shows how women can also be the root of all problems when Eve ate the apple and made Adam eat it, and that was the root of sins in the world. It shows that God created good and bearer of life, who is the man, and then there is “another” one who is the woman that made problems, yet God made her from a man’s rib. Beauvoir also notes that males are the core of humanity (i). It is with men that women can exist, which Biblical stories second. Beauvoir also criticizes the clergy for the subordination of women where nuns are meant to serve the priests. The societal hierarchy puts women below men, which puts women at a disadvantage. This instance explains the concept of women being “another” through their subordination.
Additionally, one becomes “another” to serve the interest of others. Beauvoir’s definition of women in the insignificant historical context is that a woman was like a doll for men to play with and dispose of when they wanted. A doll is customarily dressed up, objectified, played with, and has to be beautiful. Men could control how women should look, dress, and what they should do with their lives. The same is illustrated in the recent occasions where women apply makeup to improve their image in men’s eyes. The societal pressure to look good serves men’s interest in pleasing their eyes which has been normalized. Women were also subjected to the cult of womanhood where they were supposed to be caregivers and not make more meaningful impacts in society. That expectation for women to major in one area of caregiving ties their roles to give men the advantage of spearheading significant effects; thus, men can dominate more than women. This context makes women look like the other gender.
Beauvoir’s remarks about “others” are that they are people who do not belong to a particular place and that others can live without them. She gives a vivid account of how the Others are strangers of a specific area, such as Proletarians to the affluent people in the society. These are people with no significance in the community (Beauvoir, xii). The rich people can live without the lower class people, and if anything, they are more liabilities in society than assets that bring value. Additionally, the African Americans in the United States of America are also the Others who, though they provided cheap labor during the times of slavery, were disposable; thus, they endured hardship in the plantations and lacked rights. The Others are people who depend on other people’s statuses to get meaning in society.
Nonetheless, Beauvoir highlights how women are part of the Others and considered an auxiliary part of society. According to Beauvoir, men can be there for themselves without women (Beauvoir, xi). This concept illustrates a woman’s place in society as a disposable entity. A woman is dependent on a man to get the status of who she is. Beauvoir regards this by noting that “a woman is not born but becomes one” (x). Here, it strips women of their advantage in procreation, and an able man cannot fathom on their own. She notes that motherhood left women, and it was stripped off like an animal so that men may be able to dominate. The lack of acknowledgment of women’s value in bringing the same men into the world shows their place as the Others in society.
Additionally, there is a whole paradigm on the definition of sex concerning women, thus showing what it is like being a woman and placed in the Others group. In Beauvoir’s enigma, a man is “expected to become a transcendent existence” where women fulfill their desires (x). The expectation portrays women as objects that should be at men’s beck and call for sex. It also shows how women have no say in what they should experience during sex. In the recent century, there has been an awakening of female sex experts who audibly note how a woman should feel during sex. Sex should be a euphoric and emotionally exhilarating feeling between man and woman and not a one-way street where the man benefits from the experience. Stripping away the ability of the woman to enjoy sexual intercourse and viewing them as objects is detrimental to the status of a woman and her fundamental rights, thus being seen as one of the Others.
Compared to “strangers” like Jews and African Americans in foreign lands, women barely fit in the Others category as they are as many as men. Beauvoir notes that women are as many as men and makeup half of the world’s population. The appropriate categories of Others are people who do not belong in a specific region, such as African colonists or peasants in affluent neighborhoods. These are people who are logically out of place. Therefore, they would have a hard time fitting in. However, categorizing women, who make up the same proportion of the population as men, to be Others is diminishing. Stripping off their social place is a power stunt men used to dominate in society. Women are as many as men, then why would they be the ones who are inferior to men? Both genders should be equals considering their population proportions.
Women also lack the characteristics of Others as they have been able to impact society as men. The historical insignificance of women is rooted in stripping women of their rights and freedom, which women and other male feminists have been able to fight for, ensuring equality. Beauvoir wrote her piece The Second Sex after women had the right to vote, which was frowned upon by many male misogynists. She notes that most men felt that women could not be decisive or be constant; therefore, their judgment would be clouded by their “womanhood” (Beauvoir, x). Such utterance made women prove their abilities past being a bearer of life. Beauvoir commends Italian courtesans for the ability to rise as high as men when given the same opportunities. Women in fields such as NASCAR mechanics, military, and weightlifting championships have proved that women can work and achieve as much as men. Nonetheless, Beauvoir acknowledges the impact of trade to enable women to make their living and participate in unions to fight for their rights. Women have become more audible and have continued to establish their place in society, separating them from the Others.