Corinne Anderson

Professor Tracy Penny Light

History 2480

September 12, 2017

Reading Analysis Week # 2

De Beauvoir’s essay speaks about feminism at a much earlier and different time and while I was reading and comparing many of the issues she brought up as similar to issues today that women face, there were a few of her arguments that I felt were a little outdated. First, I felt that the argument that a woman will stand by her man even when a woman of a different ethnic or cultural group is being oppressed might have been true of the time this article was written, I do believe that that argument has changed for the better. Feminism is now such a part of people’s lives that today, I firmly believe that a woman would stand up for a woman no matter their skin, race or culture. Otherwise, both of the articles spoke mountains of the hardships of feminism especially in a time where women were still mainly seen as possessions. Saying that, the theme of the domestic woman as an item that was ‘wrong’ or a ‘problem’ that had to be fixed if she was unhappy or negative, sits wrong with me. In the sense that the man ( or the doctor, the therapist, the friend next door) had to find a way to bring the housewife back down to the unhappy, unfulfilling or boring life of a stay-at-home mom. When perhaps she wanted to be an engineer, a gardener or a lawyer. Women were so afraid to be singled out that they weren’t the perfect suburban housewife, they would stay silent and suffer through. Sadly, many women do not succeed their full potential because they are not privileged in resources or directions. What’s most important is that modern girls read through history, read feminist arguments and see that there is more to life than just being a wife.