Loving freely like a man requires concrete equality, not just belief in it.

Evidence

Here again, for the woman to be in love like a man—that is to say, without putting her very being into question, freely—she would have to think herself his equal, and be his equal concretely: she would have to commit herself with the same decisiveness to her enterprises, which, as we will see, is still not common. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1933

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the existential preconditions of a truly free love: thinking oneself equal and being equal concretely.
• XREF: Directly connects to Beauvoir’s central thesis that freedom requires concrete material conditions, anticipating the conclusion’s famous ‘freedom… in situation’ formulation. — connects to: True happiness requires a freedom neither gender currently possesses; Genuine feminist emancipation does not reduce love but deepens mutual understanding between equals. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 616; Authentic love requires reciprocal recognition of both partners’ freedoms — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1883 (+3 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: This condenses the book’s whole thesis: abstract affirmation of equality without concrete equal conditions cannot produce free love or authentic selfhood.

Broader Connections

• Conjugal loyalty requires both partners’ concrete economic equality and freedom #corroborates (0.92) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1324
• Authentic love requires reciprocal recognition of both partners’ freedoms #expands (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1883
• Men demand unconditional love while refusing what that devotion reciprocally requires #expands (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1885
• Liberated individuals turn from equality toward distinguishing themselves from others #contradicts (0.78) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 535