Difficult Woman N°25
Simone de Beauvoir
1908 – 1986
Who: Glamorous intellectual and writer. Shaper of contemporary feminist theory and feminist existential philosophy. Helped popularize writing in cafés. Made it safe for tall woman everywhere to take a much shorter lover.
Signature Difficult Moves: Authored The Second Sex (1949), groundbreaking and controversial book on the status and oppression of women, catapaulting her to forefront of feminist revolution.
What People Said About Her: ”If any single human being can be credited with inspiring the current international woman’s movement, it’s Simone de Beauvoir.” – Gloria Steinem
Personals: Committed lover and partner of fellow existentialist Jean Paul Sartre. No marriage, no children (distracted from deep thought; too bourgeois)
Feminine Charms: A smile that lit up a room. Very orderly hair.
How She Spoke Truth To Power: ”One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine.”
Quote To Live By: Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.
