The original sexual contest need not have resolved in man’s favor

Evidence

But a question immediately arises: How did this whole story begin? It is understandable that the duality of the sexes, like all duality, be expressed in conflict. It is understandable that if one of the two succeeded in imposing its superiority, it had to establish itself as absolute. It remains to be explained how it was that man won at the outset. It seems possible that women might have carried off the victory, or that the battle might never be resolved. Why is it that this world has always belonged to men and that only today things are beginning to change? — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 58

Categorization

• QUESTION: Beauvoir poses the historical contingency of male supremacy as an open question — when and how did man actually win?
• XREF: connects to: Practices that destabilize male authority need not be motivated by resistance to it — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival…, 1181; Men more than women frame sex as a power contest — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2496; Sexual conflict could be a fleeting historical moment rather than an original curse. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1964

Broader Connections

• Practices that destabilize male authority need not be motivated by resistance to it #qualifies (0.85) — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 1181
• Men more than women frame sex as a power contest #expands (0.75) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2496