If we would have to make a list of must read books before you die, The Second Sex would definitely be on it. No, young readers, there is nothing sexual in it, although the author refers to sexuality the title refers to the female gender which was considered and let me say it is still considered a second class sex. I hope that most of you have heard about Simone de Beauvoir as she is a significant persona of the 20th century but even if you haven't you are very lucky because today you are going to learn about her!
In order to understand this book it is essential to know the background and the beliefs of the writer. Simone de Beauvoir was born in Paris in 1908, just 10 years before women were allowed to get elected in parliament in the UK and decades before women were allowed to vote in France in 1944.
Along with being a female critical thinker de Beauvoir was also a female writer. The exact fact that she had to specify the fact that she was a female was what made her write The Second Sex in 1945.
The Second Sex is a book that reflects the so called second wave of feminism. De Beauvoir demonstrates her logical reasoning regarding the perception of female sex by men and women, males and females. For her, there is a distinct difference between the terms female and woman. However most importantly Beauvoir believed that these perceptions on gender are not biologically inherited but they are 'imposed' to us by the society we live in. This particular edition contains extracts from the original book so it is a great choice for older teenagers who are interested not only in gender equality but in philosophy in general.
It would be impossible to analyse the value of Beauvoir's reasoning in a review, for this reason I am rather going to focus on why this is a book you should definitely read. Just few days ago Carey Mulligan stated in an interview of hers for The Guardian film that 'the film industry is massively sexist'. And she is right; just consider how many women directors we are aware of, how many stories for great women – apart from fairy tales – have become movies, how we would react in the presence of a female actor who is not in agreement with the typical beauty guidelines.
We have reached a point where the term feminism has become more confusing than ever. Some of us, women and men, believe that the struggle has come to an end; others believe that gender inequality is simply not here anymore. However there are people claiming that nothing is over, that we have long way to go. What is however worrying is that people tend to associate feminism with men-hating. Then we have campaigns such as HeforShe which only by their title it is easy to tell that they are highly controversial, but even if this is the case they serve in reminding us that the problem is still here. The Second Sex offers a solution in the style of 'back to basics'. Whenever we are stuck in a problem we tend to look at it from the beginning. In this case The Second Sex serves as the root which we should appeal to for help. In order to understand the sex related problems of our society we should look back to the point it all started. Simone de Beauvoir offers you this chance through her masterpiece so do not wait any longer, grab the chance and read it!
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
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