In a compelling chronicle of her search to understand Beauvoir's philosophy in The Second Sex, Margaret A. Simons offers a unique perspective on BeauvoirOs wide-ranging contribution to twentieth-century thought. She details the discovery of the origins of Beauvoir's existential philosophy in her handwritten diary from 1927; uncovers evidence of the sexist exclusion of Beauvoir from the philosophical canon; reveals evidence that the African-American writer Richard Wright provided Beauvoir with the theoretical model of oppression that she used in The Second Sex; shows the influence of The Second Sex in transforming Sartre's philosophy and in laying the theoretical foundations of radical feminism; and addresses feminist issues of racism, motherhood, and lesbian identity. Simons also draws on her experience as a WomenOs Liberation organizer as she witnessed how women used The Second Sex in defining the foundations of radical feminism. Bringing together her work as both activist and scholar, Simons offers a highly original contribution to the renaissance of Beauvoir scholarship.

The author of numerous articles on Beauvoir, feminism, and philosophy, Margaret A. Simons is co-editor (with Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir) of a forthcoming series of English translations of all Beauvoir's philosophically significant texts. She teaches in the Department of Philosophical Studies at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Chapter 1 In Memoriam (1986)Chapter 2 PrefaceChapter 3 1 Beauvoir Interview (1979) Margaret A. Simons and Jessica BenjaminChapter 4 2 Racism and Feminism: A Schism in the Sisterhood (1979)Chapter 5 3 Beauvoir and Sartre: The Question of InfluenceChapter 6 4 Beauvoir Interview (1982)Chapter 7 5 The Silencing of Simone de Beauvior: Guess What's Missing from The Second Sex (1983)Chapter 8 6 Motherhood, Feminism, and Identity (1984)Chapter 9 7 Beauvior Interview (1985)Chapter 10 8 Sexism and the Philosophical Canon: On Reading Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1990)Chapter 11 9 Lesbian Connections: Beauvoir and Feminism (1991)Chapter 12 10 The Second Sex and the Roots of Radical Feminisim (1995)Chapter 13 11 Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir, and The Second Sex (1997)Chapter 14 12 Beauvoir's Early Philosophy: The 1927 Diary (1998)Chapter 15 ReferencesChapter 16 IndexChapter 17 About the Author