Are Women Still the Second Sex?

Woman has played many roles in various societies. She has been a wife, a mother, a farmer, a laborer, a business executive, a teacher, or a volunteer worker. Throughout history many of these societies have developed a sense of what these women places were and definite ideas of what activities are proper for woman. Some of these societies have given women their proper honor, but others have considered women less important than men, and quite often stripped them of their well-deserved credit. The argument for many years has been whether or not if women were still considered as the second sex. Women, as a whole, are still being discriminated against on the basis of sex.
From the start of time women as a whole were measured as inferior to men for countless reasons. If not by sex, by the role women play in society. This status that woman had existed for centuries. In most societies customs and traditions allowed a man or woman to attain and control how these societies perceive the sexes. Woman are discriminated against and abused on the basis of gender and it looks like things will never be different in years to come. In 1949 the French writer by the name of Simone De Beauvoir wrote her most famous exposition on woman. It’s was called The Second Sex. Its central thesis argues that women have acquired a secondary position in society since the rise of a male dominated society. She argues that this status, which was imposed against women, was caused by the force of education and social traditions enforced by men and not the fact of natural femininity. “ The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities. We should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness” said by Aristotle and St. Thomas for his part pronounced woman as being an” imperfect man.” This is symbolized in Genesis where Eve is depicted as being made from Adam’s ribs. Humanity’s man defines woman not in herself but rather relative to man and not as an autonomous being.
A woman has always been man’s dependent if not his slave. Man and woman have never shared this world equally. Women were seen as being handicapped and totally in need of men. Women depended on man for safety measures and other necessities. In the long run women had no type of security for themselves if a man was not in their lives. In ancient societies most women married and began raising children soon after puberty. These young wives remained home, received no formal education and had little economic or social power. Most were under complete control of their husbands, could not attend social events and even become socially adaptive. She is called” the sex” which implies that she appears essentially to the male for one reason and one reason only, as a sexual being. Michelet Benda once said that” Man sees her as sex- absolute sex and nothing more. Man also implies that women is inessential and incidental.” He is absolute and unconquerable and she is the other that means nothing to the world other than for man’s purposes.
Man can believe that a woman’s responsibility is to take care of home and the children. Basically, cooking cleaning and bearing children left and right. Since Ancient time, satirists and moralists enjoyed showing up the weakness of women. For instance, in ancient Rome the law gave men complete control over their wives, in spite of the fact that they had more legal freedom. In the more Medieval times, religion also determined a woman’s position. As Christianity spread through Europe many of the women lost much of their freedom. The Roman Catholic Church followed the Old Testament law and early German tradition regarding male domination. A European nobleman could end his marriage if his wife could not bear a least one son. Protestant leaders also regarded woman has being completely under control of their husbands and fathers. This form of domination can also be seen in the religions of Islam (the religion of the Moslems) and Hinduism. Like Christianity and Hinduism, Islam taught woman to obey their husbands. Men were allowed to have more than one wife and secluded their wives from society. These women did not have the right to own property or divorce. It all comes down to whether or not if it was true about women being on the face of the earth for sexual pleasures and reproduction.
Today men continually put women down, criticizing them if they are poor mothers or demonizing them if they do well in a job. The door to economic and political power has not opened widely for women. A report of the Human Development Report in 1995 took a look at various countries using economic and social indicators. It mainly focused on the idea of women. The report showed that there is a gender imbalance in basic health, education and income. Administrator James Gustave Speth of UNDP said the report showed a major indictment of the continuing discrimination against women in most societies (1). A new feature of the report is a new study on paid and unpaid labor by men and women. It found that if women are paid properly, it is quite possible that women could emerge in most societies as the major breadwinners or equal breadwinners since they put in longer hours than men do. It also concludes that women’s work remains grossly unpaid unrecognized and undervalue. In no country are women offered the same opportunities as men.
In many countries women are still not treated as equal to men- whether it be in property rights, rights of inheritance, laws relate to marriage and divorce or the rights to acquire nationality, property or seek employment. And in many parts of the world women still do not have legal control over the land that they farm. Today women still represent 70% of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty. Worldwide, women hold an average of only 10% of parliamentary seats and 6% of cabinet positions in national government. A feminist by the name of Germaine Greer argues that the new jobs for women are often in lower, more poorly paid sectors, while most management jobs go to men. A recent study shows that the average hourly earning of a woman is only 68% of that of a man. Also when that woman has children she will basically lose half of her income she would make in her lifetime.
A woman’s size and strength also contributes to the ill treatment in which men execute. Western cultures consider gentleness, meekness and motherliness as feminine traits and aggressiveness and bravery as masculine characteristics. Distinctions between the roles of women and men have also developed because most women are smaller and less powerful than most men. These physical differences have caused men to take on dangerous jobs, jobs which women are unable to do. Or so they say. Women are constantly discriminated against on the basis of sex. It is only said that men are able to accomplish physically demanding jobs. Most societies have considered it improper for men to do women’s jobs and women to do men’s jobs. This mentality needs to be bunged.
Another disturbing factor of discrimination against women occurs in the military. Surprisingly it is not seen amongst the individuals that join this form of government. It is like a hidden unfairness that no one realizes. Women who are currently in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force don’t see these things. Currently 86,000 women are on active duty, which is only 11 percent of the active duty force in the army. Certain army policies exclude women from positions it determines would have routine engagement in direct combat. What is the purpose of these exclusions? Are women incapable of doing the things men can do? In the Navy 57,000 women are on active duty. This is 10 percent of the active duty force. Job assignments for Navy women are restricted by state and Navy policy: women cannot serve on ships or fly aircraft that are designed for combat. Out of the Marine Corps members 10,000 are active duty women (5 percent of the active force). Women are excluded from certain activities like that of the Navy. The Marines are a part of the Navy Department. It is evident that women are considered as the minority in the Armed Forces. These low percentages explain. In the Air Force 14 percent of women are part of active duty. Women in the Air Force are prohibited from serving in an aircraft that is engaged in a combat mission. This belittles women’s capabilities. A woman might be able to fly a plane in a combat mission better than a man would or even be the one who can save a man’s life.. The numbers will tell that women are the minority group in the forces and it is evident that since men are the dominate gender they must be the ones making the rules for the women!
Women’s struggle to gain equal rights amongst men began in the late 1700s and early 1800s. These women’s movements began due to specific facts. Women gained their rights through the 14th Amendment. During the late 1800s, suffragists such as Elizabeth Stranton and Susan B. Anthony sought out for women’s suffrage(the right to vote) as well as economic and social reform. Influential thinkers of that time like Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony, Frances Willard, Paulina Davis and others all contributed to fight for equal rights. Two women that were very prominent in this time during the abolition movement- Elizabeth Stranton and Lucretia Mott held the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. These are outstanding women! All of these women and others that do come along after them work very hard in gaining the human rights that they believe women deserve. Many people thought the need for women’s rights ended in the United States when the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. Unfortunately, many women still faced the hurdles that men place in front of them. The initial quest for equal rights soon faded and many of the women lost hope.
During most of American history the social and economic discrimination against women was legal and accepted. Some laws intended to protect women but then again restrict them. It had the traditional view of a woman’s place being in the home. As a result of the late 1800s the Supreme Court, numerous times upheld the constitutionality of legal classifications based on sex. As part of a ruling in the Bradwell versus State of Illinios(1873) the courts denied women studying or practicing law. Justice Joseph P. Bradley explained: “ The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life.” Many of the distinctions, which were placed upon women based on sex and not ability, were found to be apparently unconstitutional.Relating to economic issues there were policies that allowed employers to deduct larger pension contributuions from the paychecks of women then that of men (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart, 1978).
Women’s roles today in the United States and Canada have somewhat changed or so they think! Women only make up 40 percent of the work force in the United States. In Canada only 34 percent make up the work force. This still means that men dominate the work force. In the United States about 40 percent and in Canada about 34 percent of women are college graduates. Still a low percentage, so that means that the other percent obviously has to be men and men do lead. In both the United States and Canada women only make up about 7 percent of the physicians, 3 percent of lawyers, and less than 1 percent of the engineers. By having a greater presence in the work force, and despite the gains in rights earned by previous generations, women of the 1970's received neither the same promotion opportunities nor compensation for their work as men. These low figures result from society’s attitude that such professions are unsuitable for women. Even though there has been women in public office there has never been a woman president. The United States has only three women governors and no women as President. Where is the equality in this when women can’t even represent themselves? On the other hand women also face the hardships of abuse from men. Being unable to represent themselves women become degraded and abused by men.
Violence against women has greatly grown. Husbands, lovers and fathers inflicted most of this violence. Women are still the second sex due to the violence men and society place upon women. Since most of the violence is unseen and private, it is difficult to apprehend their offenders. The UN declares that violence against women is defined as” any act, omission, controlling behavior or threat in any sphere that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological injury to women.” This means that both state and government and individuals are to ensure that rehabilitation and aid are provided to women. Refugee women are often victims of rape and other sexual abuse. Each year thousands of women and girls worldwide are forced into prostitution. Three to four million women are victimized by violence each year. One woman is physically abused every eight seconds and one is raped every six minutes. A parliamentarian in a South Pacific country went as far to say that” wife beating is an accepted custom. We are wasting our time debating the issue.” This is what we would call an egotistical maniac.
Recent studies showed that in Canada found that 54 percent of 420 randomly selected women had experienced some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16. All over the country violence against women happens. Genital mutilation is a tradition that is still practiced in parts of Africa and Asia. Approximately 5 girls are genitally mutilated every minute. Therefore, the mutilations purpose was to prevent females from gaining that sexual satisfaction but only to reproduce. Also as records show at a police station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 70 percent of all reported cases of violence against women took place in the home.
Women are said to feel sexually harassed; and men feel that their courting behavior is just often misunderstood. Women fear men’s power to hurt them physically and therefore men become dominant and controlling. Wives or mothers who say “he is a good husband; he only hits me once a week” needs to seek mental health immediately. Any women who tolerate this type of behavior from men are in denial and scared of something they don’t need to be in or even something they should not be scared of. This is why men think that they can do the things and treat women any which way they feel is suitable for them. Yet the seriousness of this issue is often ignored and un-apprehended.
Despite the countless amounts of times that women have tried to acquire equal rights among men it has been a fight that will never end. The best way to empower women is to try and understand that this is a problem. Women need to become more aggressive and demanding in a positive manner. Females should not feel helpless and weak and must have the mentality that things can be different in this society. A New York analyst, one of the last trained at Freud's own Psychoanalytic Institute in Vienna:
For twenty years now in analyzing American women, I have found myself again and again in the position of having to superimpose Freud's theory of femininity on the psychic life of my patients in a way that I was not willing to do. I have come to the conclusion that penis envy simply does not exist. I have seen women who are completely expressive, sexually, vaginally, and vet who are not mature, integrated, fulfilled. I had a woman patient on the couch for nearly two years before I could face her real problem - that it was not enough for her to be just a housewife and mother. One day she had a dream that she was teaching a class. I could not dismiss the powerful yearning of this housewife's dream, as penis envy. It was the expression of her own need for mature self-fulfillment. I told her: ' I can't analyze this dream away. You must do something about it.' (107)
The need for change is there, and women can do something about it. In education women need to close the gender gap, eradicate illiteracy of women worldwide and develop a curriculum, textbooks and teaching aids free of stereotypes.
Violence against women needs to be congested. Laws should be made to enact the equal pay of women and men in equal work and allow women to work in a greater variety of environments. Eliminate sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. Women need to be ensured full and equal participation in power and decision-making. Aim for a gender balance in the government. Individuals need to encourage the elimination of gender stereotyping in the media and through studies. All forms of discrimination should be blocked, as well as negative cultural behaviors and practices against girl children. Ensure that they develop a positive self-image. These young ladies are our futures so take care of them. In this man-dominated world these things will not come easy. It will rather be a battle that will never end in any solution. So as women we need to come together and stand up for our selves.
Women are very important creatures on the face of this Earth. Women are the bearer of what this world needs to exist. The equality of the sexes has always been a debate. It is evident in the statements above that women are still the second sex and the possibility of this changing is hopeless. Women are characterized as being inferior to men and the secondary sex. Men still see themselves as the breed, which brings home the bacon. And now that this idea of women bringing home the bacon men just can’t seem to live the fact. So instead of accepting this newfound change they try to prevent it. Despite the many women movements that took place it would be possible to see the changes in which our own kind has fought for, but it looks like it was pointless and irrelevant. Women need to understand what the possibilities are in changing and maybe things could change. The unfair expectations of women by society today and the perpetuate myth of women being inferior to men can be abolished. Maybe then the battle between the sexes can end and woman and man can live together equally without discrimination. Maybe it is true what they say, “ this is a man’s world!”

Work Cited List United States, UNDP Press Release. UN.Development Program. 1995 Human Development Report Measures Global Gender Gap. Article #34, Aug 17,1995
Un Chronicle. United Nations Department of Public Information. Empowering Women: The Call for Equal Rights. Article #6. United States, March 1993
Suefert-Barr, Nancy. “Violence Against Women.” Seeking Action for Equality, Development, Peace. June 1998:39-48
Seufert-Barr, Nancy. “ Draft Platform for Action, 12 Critical Areas of Concern.” Seeking Action for Equality, Development, Peace. June 1998:39-48
Kipnis R. Aaron and Elizabeth Tangley. Ending the Battle Between the Sexes: First Separate, Then Communicate. UNTE Reader. Jan/ Feb. 1993:69-76
Rothman, Sheila M. Women’s Proper Place: A History of Changing Ideas and Practices, 1870 to the Present. New York: Basic Books, Inc, 1978
Pro/ Con Individuals and Society. Volume 1, Danbury, Connecticut 2002
Women’s Research and Education Institute, “ Facts About Women In Military 1980- 1990.” Women’s Studies Database at University of Maryland. 3pp. Online. Internet. May25, 2004
Worldbook Online “ Rise of Women’s Movements” Worldbook 3pp.Online. Internet. May 25,2004

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