Simone de Beauvoir

 

Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher that lived from 1908-1986. She is most well known for being part of the start of the movement of second wave feminism. She was raised Catholic but became atheist at the age of 14, which led her to existentialism and studying math, literature, and philosophy. She had a close friend and lover (but never husband) by the name of Jean-Paul Sartre. He was also an existentialist philosopher and the two remained close and heavily influenced each other throughout the rest of their lives. De Beauvoir wrote many literary works about a wide variety of subjects. While she is a very inspiring woman who did a lot for the world of feminism, she was not a saint and was involved in some controversial things. She had questionable relationships with students and had some pretty radical ideas and ways of thinking. I think it is important to note that we can learn from her while still recognizing that not everything she said and did is something to follow.

Like I mentioned previously, Simone de Beauvoir really kick started second wave feminism and is well known for her literary works, many of which either focus entirely on feminism or have themes of feminism woven throughout. She wrote what is known as one of the earliest and most important works of feminism entitled The Second Sex. This book shares de Beauvoir's opinion that women have been treated as second class to men throughout history and promotes second wave feminism. Her work was incredibly important for her time as she was sharing opinions that were extremely controversial and unheard of. She argued for women and their rights and was a proud advocate for political ideologies that she supported. Her contributions changed the world of feminism and promoted new ideas to the public of what it was to be a woman and how society needs to change. 

Simone de Beauvoir is commemorated with a sign on the corner of the street next to the cafe where her and Sarte frequented in Paris (see me pictured with the sign above!). A couple things that I have to say about the sign: it was not easy to find because google maps led us to the wrong place. That was very unfortunate and should definitely be fixed! Who do I talk to?? The other thing is that she doesn't have her own plaque - she shares it with Jean-Paul Sarte. I do really like the idea of the plaque. I think that it is lovely that she is remembered next to the cafe where she spent a lot of time, and that it says that they were philosophers and writers, but I think that it would have been nice if Simone de Beauvoir could have had something that belonged just to her.