The Second Sex II: Actual Experience Author: [France] Simone de Beauvoir Translator: Zheng Kelu Publisher: Shanghai Translation Publishing House

The Second Sex 2 is the theoretical basis of the feminist movement in the 20th century. The famous sociologist Li Yinhe called Beauvoir "the master of feminist thought" and "the ideological mentor and standard-bearer of feminism". The book cites a large number of examples, which are detailed and vivid, and it is interesting to read, unlike the dull and obscure ordinary theoretical works. As a thinker, Beauvoir transcends the times. Many of the problems she pointed out in The Second Sex 2 are still social diseases today, and some are even getting worse. Looking back on this book today, more than 60 years after the original book was published, it can arouse more personal thinking. The subtitle of The Second Sex 2 is "actual experience". Starting from the philosophical theory of existentialism, it conducts a positive examination of different periods in a woman's life (childhood, adolescence, sexual enlightenment period, marriage, motherhood and old age), and at the same time makes judgments and evaluations on the experiences she may encounter in her life (homosexuality, becoming an intellectual, a star, a prostitute or a socialite, etc.), which deeply reveals the situation and nature of women. The author also analyzes the formation process of narcissistic women, romantic women and devout women and the complex social reasons behind them. Finally, he proposes that the only way for women to be liberated is to become independent women. He also emphasizes that only when changes in women's economic status bring about spiritual, social, cultural and other consequences, and only when women's self-awareness undergoes a fundamental change, can true gender equality be achieved.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) is a French philosopher, writer and feminist. She passed the French philosophy teacher qualification exam in 1929 and taught in many schools. In 1945, she co-founded the magazine "Modern" with Jean-Paul Sartre, dedicated to promoting existentialist views. In 1949, she published "The Second Sex", which caused a great response and became a classic of feminism. In 1954, she won the Goncourt Prize for her novel "The Man with the Man". She, Hannah Arendt and Susan Sontag are known as the three centers of Western female scholarship.