Comparing men’s and women’s lived positions is meaningless because their situations differ fundamentally

Evidence

It is thus as absurd to speak of “the woman” in general as of “the eternal man.” And we can see why all comparisons where we try to decide if the woman is superior, inferior, or equal to the man are pointless: their situations are profoundly different. If these same situations are compared, it is obvious that the man’s is infinitely preferable, that is to say, he has far more concrete opportunities to project his freedom in the world; the inevitable result is that masculine realizations outweigh by far those of women: for women, it is practically forbidden to do anything. But to compare the use that, within their limits, men and women make of their freedom is a priori meaningless, precisely because they use it freely. In various forms, the traps of bad faith and the mystifications of seriousness are lying in wait for both of them; freedom is entire in each. However, because of the fact that in woman this freedom remains abstract and empty, it cannot authentically assume itself except in revolt: this is the only way open to those who have no chance to build anything; they must refuse the limits of their situation and seek to open paths to the future; resignation is only a surrender and an evasion; for woman there is no other way out than to work for her liberation. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1769

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the core existentialist principle that situation, not abstract equality or difference, is the unit of analysis.
• XREF: Directly echoes Sartre’s bad faith and seriousness from Being and Nothingness, positioning Beauvoir against her mentor. — connects to: Economic emancipation alone does not place women in a situation identical to men’s — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1920; Female emancipation will not produce uniformity between the sexes — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1981; Marriage and career are structurally harder to combine for women than for men — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1932

Broader Connections

• Economic emancipation alone does not place women in a situation identical to men’s #corroborates (0.90) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1920
• Female emancipation will not produce uniformity between the sexes #corroborates (0.88) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1981