Simone de Beauvoir
1908 – 1986 French philosopher, writer
The philosopher whose work founded modern feminism.
- Religion
- Raised a devout Catholic, she became an atheist in her teens and remained one for life.
- Affiliations
- A leading existentialist and feminist thinker; partner of Sartre. No secret society.
De Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex, arguing that one is not born but becomes a woman, and that womanhood is a social construction. It became a founding work of modern feminism. She was also a major existentialist philosopher and novelist in her own right.
Connections
- associate of Jean-Paul Sartre — Lifelong partners and intellectual collaborators.
- associate of Jean-Paul Sartre — Lifelong partners who shaped each other's philosophy.
In the timeline
- 1949 Publication of The Second Sex mentioned
- 1949 Simone de Beauvoir publishes The Second Sex central figure