14 Sep Simone de Beauvoir Views On Sexuality
Posted
in Industry Knowledge
I have written a number of pieces focussing on the views on sexuality on a number of early thinkers, including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Richard von Krafft-Ebing. In these pieces, which are becoming a series, I have included mainly psychotherapists and psychiatrists, whose viewpoints came from scientific study and observing their patients. In this piece, I am going to talk about the views of someone who came from a different academic background, but contributed her own theories to our understanding of gender and sexuality.
Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher, writer and social theorist, contributing to the field of feminist theory through her work “The Second Sex.” Beauvoir, born in 1908 and passing away in 1986, led a non-conforming and controversial life, including being the long term partner of French existential philosopher, Jean-Paul Satre, while maintaining relationships with a diverse group of lovers. “The Second Sex” was a ground breaking work, discussing the treatment of women in present society and throughout history, and sparked the second-wave of feminism by inspiring leading thinkers in that movement. “The Second Sex”, first published in 1949, was the most controversial work of Beauvoir’s, even earning a ban by the Vatican. In this piece, I explain Beauvoir’s main views on sexuality that she explores in her work, how they contrast with other theories of the time and how we can understand them today.
BEAUVOIR'S THEORY OF WOMEN AS THE OTHER
Beauvoir argues that men are considered the default, and that women are “Other” relative to them. This “Othering” can be seen at its best in sport; for example, the NBA is the default pinnacle of basketball in the US, comprising of men, is not known as the Men’s NBA, whereas we do have the WNBA. Although Beauvoir rejects the views of academics such as Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler who had a heavy biological focus to explain key differences between genders, Beauvoir argues that women’s position as the “Other” and inferior to men is tied to reproduction and the barriers to participation in the workforce. As motherhood requires a significant physical and time burden on women, Beauvoir argues that this role which cannot be fulfilled by men sets women apart and results in them being at a disadvantage. Although carrying children is a pivotal role for the survival of a species, Beauvoir argues that it is the social construction of this and the associated tasks that are used to keep women in the role as the “Other” play a key role in sentencing women to inferiority. Furthermore, Beauvoir argues that opposition to abortion is rooted in continuing the oppression of women and of “masculine sadism” towards them as opposed to any moral stance.
Beauvoir notes that “mystery” plays a key role in men’s myths about women, but this “mystery” is about social context, and is important for a person to be seen as the “Other”. This is regardless of if the “othering” is based on their race, gender, sexual orientation and place in the social hierarchy (for example, Beauvoir describes how slaves are described and discussed with heavy mythology to maintain their position as the “Other”).
BEAUVOIR'S VIEWS ON HOMOSEXUALITY
Beauvoir’s views on homosexuality may be seen as confusing considering her personal life. She did not believe that women were born homosexual, or that it was due to psychological issues (as was prevalent amongst many psychotherapists I have discussed before) but was a choice made by women in light of the social context and patriarchal oppression in which they lived. Beauvoir argued that this choice, to engage in sexual relationships with the same sex, was an attempt to escape the patriarchy and the roles enforced upon women by men (eg childbearing, heterosexual monogamous marriage). Beauvoir had female lovers and is generally considered to have been bi-sexual, but rejected lesbian collective identity, insisting that female same-sex attraction was a personal choice and a radical rejection of societal norms, which she almost glorified.
However, when it comes to male homosexuality, Beauvoir was particularly scathing, saying it was a choice made by men who never matured and remained obsessed by penises. Although she was a critic of Freud, she would refer back to his work on how women experience “penis-envy”, and that male homosexuality was a reverse of that; an envy of femininity that was demonstrated by men choosing a “homosexual lifestyle.”
BEAUVOIR'S VIEWS ON SEX WORK
Last, but not least, let’s have a look at what Beauvoir thought about sex work. Beauvoir’s overarching view was that women’s engagement in sex work was a result of economic oppression, a society that reduced them to an object and an example of the ongoing enforcement of their role as the “Other.” She argued that women are forced into this line of work due to capitalism and patriarchy. This reading of Beauvoir aligns with second wave of feminism that she inspired, which was also aggressively anti-sex work and anti-pornography.
However, Beauvoir said there were exceptions to this, such as the ancient Greek courtesans who were highly educated and could achieve independence by providing service to many men as opposed to being married to one. Beauvoir said that while individual women could engage in sex work with varying degrees of autonomy and independence, the “institution” itself was exploitative while gender inequality persists widely within society.
What is missing from Beauvoir’s view is sex work as work; women are forced into work due to capitalism, regardless of what the job is. If Beauvoir was alive today, I would be interested to hear what her view now is on this subject, when through digital means, many women have seized the means of production when it comes to sex work and pornography.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
I have written a number of pieces focussing on the views on sexuality on a number of early thinkers, including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Richard von Krafft-Ebing. In these pieces, which are becoming a series, I have included mainly psychotherapists and psychiatrists, whose viewpoints came from scientific study and observing their patients. In this piece, I am going to talk about the views of someone who came from a different academic background, but contributed her own theories to our understanding of gender and sexuality.
Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher, writer and social theorist, contributing to the field of feminist theory through her work “The Second Sex.” Beauvoir, born in 1908 and passing away in 1986, led a non-conforming and controversial life, including being the long term partner of French existential philosopher, Jean-Paul Satre, while maintaining relationships with a diverse group of lovers. “The Second Sex” was a ground breaking work, discussing the treatment of women in present society and throughout history, and sparked the second-wave of feminism by inspiring leading thinkers in that movement. “The Second Sex”, first published in 1949, was the most controversial work of Beauvoir’s, even earning a ban by the Vatican. In this piece, I explain Beauvoir’s main views on sexuality that she explores in her work, how they contrast with other theories of the time and how we can understand them today.
BEAUVOIR'S THEORY OF WOMEN AS THE OTHER
Beauvoir argues that men are considered the default, and that women are “Other” relative to them. This “Othering” can be seen at its best in sport; for example, the NBA is the default pinnacle of basketball in the US, comprising of men, is not known as the Men’s NBA, whereas we do have the WNBA. Although Beauvoir rejects the views of academics such as Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler who had a heavy biological focus to explain key differences between genders, Beauvoir argues that women’s position as the “Other” and inferior to men is tied to reproduction and the barriers to participation in the workforce. As motherhood requires a significant physical and time burden on women, Beauvoir argues that this role which cannot be fulfilled by men sets women apart and results in them being at a disadvantage. Although carrying children is a pivotal role for the survival of a species, Beauvoir argues that it is the social construction of this and the associated tasks that are used to keep women in the role as the “Other” play a key role in sentencing women to inferiority. Furthermore, Beauvoir argues that opposition to abortion is rooted in continuing the oppression of women and of “masculine sadism” towards them as opposed to any moral stance.
Beauvoir notes that “mystery” plays a key role in men’s myths about women, but this “mystery” is about social context, and is important for a person to be seen as the “Other”. This is regardless of if the “othering” is based on their race, gender, sexual orientation and place in the social hierarchy (for example, Beauvoir describes how slaves are described and discussed with heavy mythology to maintain their position as the “Other”).
BEAUVOIR'S VIEWS ON HOMOSEXUALITY
Beauvoir’s views on homosexuality may be seen as confusing considering her personal life. She did not believe that women were born homosexual, or that it was due to psychological issues (as was prevalent amongst many psychotherapists I have discussed before) but was a choice made by women in light of the social context and patriarchal oppression in which they lived. Beauvoir argued that this choice, to engage in sexual relationships with the same sex, was an attempt to escape the patriarchy and the roles enforced upon women by men (eg childbearing, heterosexual monogamous marriage). Beauvoir had female lovers and is generally considered to have been bi-sexual, but rejected lesbian collective identity, insisting that female same-sex attraction was a personal choice and a radical rejection of societal norms, which she almost glorified.
However, when it comes to male homosexuality, Beauvoir was particularly scathing, saying it was a choice made by men who never matured and remained obsessed by penises. Although she was a critic of Freud, she would refer back to his work on how women experience “penis-envy”, and that male homosexuality was a reverse of that; an envy of femininity that was demonstrated by men choosing a “homosexual lifestyle.”
BEAUVOIR'S VIEWS ON SEX WORK
Last, but not least, let’s have a look at what Beauvoir thought about sex work. Beauvoir’s overarching view was that women’s engagement in sex work was a result of economic oppression, a society that reduced them to an object and an example of the ongoing enforcement of their role as the “Other.” She argued that women are forced into this line of work due to capitalism and patriarchy. This reading of Beauvoir aligns with second wave of feminism that she inspired, which was also aggressively anti-sex work and anti-pornography.
However, Beauvoir said there were exceptions to this, such as the ancient Greek courtesans who were highly educated and could achieve independence by providing service to many men as opposed to being married to one. Beauvoir said that while individual women could engage in sex work with varying degrees of autonomy and independence, the “institution” itself was exploitative while gender inequality persists widely within society.
What is missing from Beauvoir’s view is sex work as work; women are forced into work due to capitalism, regardless of what the job is. If Beauvoir was alive today, I would be interested to hear what her view now is on this subject, when through digital means, many women have seized the means of production when it comes to sex work and pornography.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
