Women’s reverence for masculine law stems from powerlessness rather than judgment

Evidence

The respect women grant to heroes and to the masculine world’s laws stems from their powerlessness and ignorance; they acknowledge these laws not through judgment but through an act of faith: faith draws its fanatical power from the fact that it is not knowledge: it is blind, passionate, stubborn, and stupid; what it puts forward is done unconditionally, against reason, against history, against all refutation. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1743

Categorization

• DEFINE: Beauvoir defines the woman’s relation to the masculine world as an act of faith, not knowledge — a stable, unconditional devotion.
• XREF: connects to: Women’s defenselessness functions as the legal title of their oppression; Women’s exclusion from authority stems from learned passivity, not innate inferiority — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 673; Christian doctrine institutionalized women’s subordination despite early egalitarian impulses — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 204 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Female attempts to dominate men are defensive responses to imposed oppression #expands (0.82) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1966
• Men’s prejudice is approach-driven toward dominance while women’s is avoidance-driven #complicates (0.75)