As a woman, I believe I have become more conscious of my gender role and what it entails. Beauvoir emphasizes how our status as women is reliant on man since that is how he created the law, which favors their gender, referencing Poulain de la Barre. This is significant because it has influenced the development of sex roles and expectations for men and women. When I was younger and grew older, my parents told my sister and I that they were going to give us greater responsibility, which included assigning tasks. There is nothing wrong with having responsibilities, but I have realized I should have called into question the responsibilities my parents assigned to us. We had the usual chores of taking out the garbage, cleaning our rooms, vacuuming, and doing the dishes. I had noted that my mother was responsible for cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, mopping, and, most importantly, cooking. My stepfather, on the other hand, had no chores, but I eventually learnt that his responsibilities included paying the rent and expenses. In my mind, I assumed that was the way things were, but after reading Beauvoir, I learned that there is more significance to our positions. We were conforming to the roles that society had set for us. Typically, women have been assigned the role of caregiver, responsible for domestic responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning, while men have typically been regarded as breadwinners, responsible for paying bills and providing financial support for their families. This quote by Beauvoir is very important to my point:
“When man makes of women the Other, he may, then expect her to manifest deep-seated tendencies toward complicity. Thus, women may fail to lay claim to the status of subject, because she lacks definite resources, because she feels the necessary bond that ties her to man, regardless of reciprocity, and because she is often very well pleased with her role as the Other” (Vintage Books, 1974).
Beauvoir examines how males identify women as essentially different or foreign, presenting themselves as the norm while relegating women to a secondary role. This “othering” encourages males to expect women to accept their marginalization, which is often reinforced by social and cultural conventions. Women are so disadvantaged because they lack the resources (social, economic, and political) that impart power, limiting their ability to express themselves as autonomous people. Furthermore, women are frequently indoctrinated to feel a required link with males, even if this bond is not returned in equal measure, which might keep them from questioning their inferior status. Some women may find happiness in these positions, which are influenced by societal rewards for obedience. Beauvoir’s observation is powerful because it emphasizes how gender inequality is maintained not just via blatant discrimination, but also through deeper, sometimes unconscious psychological and social factors. Her study encourages readers to recognize these subtle dynamics and empowers women to question and fight their prescribed positions, pushing for a critical reevaluation of power dynamics and gender roles in society.
