Who recommends it
- Susan WareInterview
It was 1970, and perhaps not surprisingly, my introduction came through three books I read within the space of several months: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, and The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. In retrospect, I am tickled that the combination gave me a powerful…
- The Most Important Books On FeminismReading list
Written in 1949, this early feminist text stemmed from de Beauvoir’s realisation that the first sentence that, in her own head, defined her was: “I am a woman.” The Second Sex is a powerful exploration of women as the “other”, examining historical, mythical and scientific representations to argue that women are taught…
- Ellen DatlowInterview
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir – it was one of several books that turned me into a feminist.
- The Most Important Philosophy BooksReading list
Simone de Beauvoir didn’t intend to be a feminist, but she inadvertently inspired activists and sparked a second wave when she wrote The Second Sex – a groundbreaking manifesto that scrutinised women’s oppression. Her most famous idea, “One isn’t born, but rather becomes, a woman,” means that while our anatomy and…
- Skye ClearyInterview
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco for adventure and mystery. Edna St. Vincent Millay because we could always do with more poetry in our lives. And The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir for why feminism and authenticity matters – for all of us.
- Diane CoyleInterview
The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir. It made me a feminist, and also taught me how dangerously easy it is to see another category of people as ‘other’. We could do with another wave of feminism, as powerful as the late 1970s when I read The Second Sex at a formative age.
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