Othering Within the Other

As I read “The Second Sex” by Simone de Beauvoir, I found myself having many revelations. As she opens this chapter, her tone is very condescending. I am initially not sure if she is making light of femininity or blatantly disregarding the notion. As I read on however, I find her stance and everything becomes clear.

Many concepts trigger emotions and experiences for me that began to make sense as I read on. The first concept was how Eve was created out of an unnecessary rib of Adam, thus making women as seemingly unnecessary or required. Next, the idea that woman is merely essential as a sexual object at the disposal of man. It is here woman becomes identified as the “Other”. Not a subject as man is, but as the “Other”, as an object, a piece of property. This idea presented hundreds of years ago is still evident for example in the media. It is very rare for a woman in a commercial to be shown as a complete image. Rather she is segmented in breasts, thighs, hips, ass and legs. Overly objectified in an instance to simply sell an item, another object coincidentally.

From there, de Beauvoir talks about the idea that marginalized groups such as Proletarians, Negroes, and Jews regarded themselves as “We”. On page 6/16 de Beauvoir states, “But women do not say “‘We’”, except at some congress of feminists or similar formal demonstrations; men say “‘women’”, and women use the same word referring to themselves. They do not authentically assume a subjectivity attitude.” This lack of coming together as an indomitable unit has continued to perpetuate the ignorance of the dominant group and divided women throughout.

Because women have never come together, we illustrate this identity of individuality. In turn we find ourselves internally othering one another. Now the “Other” is othering another. There are White women, Black women, Asian women, Spanish women, etc., but never just “We” or “Us”. By othering internally, women are able to gain some sense of supremacy. When a woman refers to another woman as a bitch, slut, or whore, she has othered that woman and in return feels some sense of power and is the dominant force. In my community and culture it is not unheard of for women to other one another. It almost becomes a competition of who has it better, when deep down we all are suffering from male dominated oppression and our actions only strengthen our oppressor.

It is not enough to blame men when women have become complacent in their role(s). Women may not be able to overthrow the dominant force as a whole any time soon, but what we can do is collectively come together as the out group and stop othering one another.