Beauvoir

It appears that men prefer the myth of the Eternal Feminine to the reality of women, because they would rather not admit that a woman has a brain and can think for herself. At one time, women had no say in anything. Their words didn’t mean anything, and they could not stand up for themselves. There was no right or wrong when it came to women, what was right was what men did. Femininity appears to be something foreign to men. Beauvoir states “ In actuality, of course, women appear under various aspects; but each of the myths built up around the subject of woman is intended to sum her up in toto; each aspires to be unique. In consequence, a number of incompatible myths exist, and man tarry musing before the strange incoherencies manifested by the idea of Femininity” (Beavoir 785). What she is basically saying is that it is hard for men to accept the fact that women are not these statues that just stand there to look good. A woman has a mind of her own and wants to be unique. Not all women are the same, and nor do they want to be. Femininity is about a woman feeling comfortable in her own skin. Some women are not what society sees as feminine, but if they are comfortable and happy that is all that matters. Some men look at femininity in a very sexist way. They think that being feminine means having long hair, wearing make up, and basically looking like a Barbie doll. However, in reality that is not what it is. Some men would rather believe a myth of how women should look and act rather than accept that all women are different and have different ways of being or feeling feminine.

De Beauvoir, Simone. "Woman: Myth and Reality." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Trans. H.M. Parshley. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. pp. 784-794