Is_The_Struggle_For_Gender_Equality_Comparable_To_The_Strugg

Is The Struggle For Gender Equality Comparable To The Struggle For Racial Equality' In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir compares the position of women in the western world with that of black Americans. In her essay she states: “but there are deep similarities between the situation of woman and that of the Negro…the former class wishes to keep them in their place-that is the place chosen for them.”(Beauvoir, 609) This is a fair comparison because both women and black Americans are in the human community, but they are not of the human community. Beauvoir feels that both groups have been placed in a position where they are considered “equal but separate”. The struggle for racial equality and the struggle for gender equality are comparable because both groups are trying to emancipate themselves, they are considered equal but separate, and other groups feel superiority over women and black Americans. The first area in which the struggles for gender and racial equality are comparable is that both groups are working to transform their social standing. Women and black Americans are in a constant struggle to break the chains of oppression that have been keeping them behind for so many years. Beauvoir argues that “the ruling class” seeks to dehumanize women and black Americans by making women, beauvoir, equality, black, americans, groups, gender, both, african, racial, men, feel, struggle, considered, been, struggles, separate, equal, because, white, society, same, people, comparable, class, superior, states, say, ruling, race, one, man, human, argues, american, two