Episode 17|2: The Second Sex

Dévorer le tabou: la révolution à travers l’acte de manger – Les Bookworms

Dans cet épisode, nous discutons le livre de Lauren Malka – Mangeuses : Histoire de celle qui dévorent, savourent ou se privent a l’excès. Nous explorons les expériences universelles et personnelles lie à l’acte de manger, passant de la honte et de la culpabilité à la célébration et à la joie. Nous examinons les pressions politique et sociétales qui ont contrôle et critique le corps de femmes.  Et surtout, nous célébrons l’acte de rébellion de s’aimer tel que nous sommes et de savourer chaque bouchée de ce confit de canard !

1. Dévorer le tabou: la révolution à travers l’acte de manger 31:23
2. Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair 40:50
3. Through the Pages of Time 55:01
4. In Search of Lost Podcasts: Les Bookworms Revival 28:08
5. 2 Down 5 to Go: Reflections on Volume II of Proust 30:07

Overview

[Before we start the description, we want to put a trigger warning on this book and podcast. She discusses many aspects of being a woman which includes violence, sexual harassment and assault, rape, and other topics that can be difficult to read about. She writes about them in a very straightforward matter of fact way but be mindful if these are topics that upset you].

Originally published in 1949 as a novel, this book reads more like a textbook of the history of female oppression, taking on topics ranging from Christian depictions of women, the right to vote, menstruation and maternity. De Beauvoir begins by saying famously, one is not born a woman, one becomes a woman. Straight away, she attacks the myths perpetuated about women and gender as essential to a person’s being. The book is shockingly ahead of its time and it can’t be overstated how important it was in inspiring the second wave of feminism. One that moves beyond legal equality and into philosophical and societal differences in the way women are treated. 

Country

France (+ the world in general)

Overarching Themes

1. Simone de Beauvoir | the woman
2. Facts and Myths
3. Lived Experience

How does this book question the idea of the Francophonie? (Does it go against the grain? Does it stay stereotypical?) 

It’s a chronicle of feminine history. She brings in examples from across time and throughout the world. In a way, the book itself discusses topics which were at the time and arguably still today taboo. She pushes the envelope of what is the lived reality of women and pulls back the curtain. In this way, she’s expanding the public knowledge and discussion. In terms of the Francophonie, this has become one of the most well known pieces of modern  literature or academia from France.

Not ready for the whole ting but curious to learn more? Check out “The Independent Woman” which is a selection of several chapters from The Second Sex and presents some of the most important themes. It’s around 100 pages instead of the 900-1000 pages of the entire volume!