Material and social circumstances rather than talent barred women from artistic genius

Evidence

Once again, to explain her limits, we must refer to her situation and not to a mysterious essence: the future remains wide open. The idea that woman has no “creative genius” has been defended ad nauseam; Mme Marthe Borély, a noted antifeminist of former times, defends this thesis, among others: but it looks as if she tried to make her books the living proof of incoherence and feminine silliness, and so they contradict themselves. Besides, the idea of a given creative “instinct” must be rejected like that of the “eternal feminine” and put away in the attic of entities. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As for the argument drawn from history, we have just seen what we should think of it; the historical past cannot be considered as defining an eternal truth; it merely translates a situation that is showing itself to be historical precisely in that it is in the process of changing. How could women ever have had genius when all possibility of accomplishing a work of genius—or just a work—was refused them? — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Women never go beyond the pretext,” a writer told me. This is true enough. Still amazed at having had permission to explore the world, they take its inventory without trying to discover its meaning. … Women do not challenge the human condition because they have barely begun to be able to assume it entirely. This explains why their works generally lack metaphysical resonance and black humor as well; they do not set the world apart, they do not question it, they do not denounce its contradictions: they take it seriously. … Destiny is not what limits her: it is easy to understand why it has not been possible for her to reach the highest summits, and why it will perhaps not be possible for some time. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1947 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Public hostility and dependence on opinion crushed many women writers’ careers; Women’s lack of creative genius stems from situation, not essence — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952; Women’s historical absence of genius follows from denied opportunity — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Women’s lack of creative genius stems from situation, not essence #corroborates (0.95) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952
• Women’s historical absence of genius follows from denied opportunity #corroborates (0.95) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1952
• Women’s literary mediocrity stems from social situation, not natural destiny #corroborates (0.92) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1947
• Women’s exclusion from authority stems from learned passivity, not innate inferiority #corroborates (0.85) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 673
• Creativity is an inborn birthright that social imperatives suppress #expands (0.80) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 420