Image of Gamete
"What is important to see is that in this meeting neither gamete takes precedence over the other: they both sacrifice their individuality; the egg absorbs the totality of their substance" (27).
de Beauvoir makes use of the image of the gamete in her section on biological data. This image allows her to illustrate the biological process that many theorists have believed to be the basis for general relations between the sexes. For some theorists, the fact that an egg absorbs a sperm represents the passivity of women. For de Beauvoir, however, the image of two gametes being equal is an important one to keep in mind. She believes that this image allows us to see that actually, biologically, neither men nor women are "naturally" superior or inferior to one another.
Image of Woman as Object
"Deprived of this alter ego, the little girl does not alienate herself in a graspable thing, does not reclaim herself: she is thus led to make her entire self an object, to posit herself as the Other; the question of knowing whether or not she has compared herself with boys is secondary; what is important is that, even without her knowing it, the absence of a penis keeps her from being aware of herself as a sex; many consequences result from this" (58).
According to de Beauvoir, women regard themselves as objects because they do not have a phallus with which they can identify. While boys view their own phallus as something in which they can alienate themselves and with which they can identify, women lack such an organ and thus view their entire being as an object. Girls think of their physical selves not as a body they use to interact with the world, but rather as the entire substance of who they area. de Beauvoir's use of this image of the girl as an object helps to illustrate more viscerally why women have a more difficult time producing anything new or stepping outside of their own limited experience.
Image of Man Writing History
"Several conclusions come to the fore when taking a look at this history as a whole. And first of all this one: women's entire history has been written by men" (148).
One of de Beauvoir's main points is that men have defined and shaped women's situation in society. She illustrates this through the image of men writing women's history. By being in control of the story of women's historical position in society, men are also in control of how we think of women today and how women have always thought of themselves. This image helps to make clear just how powerful men are when it comes to defining women's situation. In fact, it is men who are the creators of this history, and thus they shape every situation in which women find themselves.
Image of Hetaera
"I will use the word 'hetaera' to designate women who use not only their bodies but also their entire person as exploitable capital. Their attitude is very different from that of a creator who, transcending himself in a work, goes beyond the given and appeals to a freedom in others to whom he opens up the future; the hetaera does not uncover the world, she opens no road to human transcendence: on the contrary, she seeks to take possession of it for her profit; offering herself up for the approval of her admirers, she does not disavow this passive femininity that dooms her to man: she endows it with a magic power that allows her to take males into the trap of presence, and to feed herself on them; she engulfs them with herself in immanence" (612).
The image of the hetaera, as de Beauvoir describes it, is a powerful one. de Beauvoir compares the hetaera to the prostitute, as both use their bodies to get by and rely on multiple men to support them. However, this image makes clear that the hetaera has a more aggressive presence; she not only uses men, but in fact feeds on them. The hetaera's seductive powers are violent and all-consuming. At the same time, de Beauvoir later makes clear that the hetaera still does not have full equality or power in society. Despite her magical sway over men, she cannot assert herself in the way that a truly independent woman could. The contrast between this dangerous image and her actual powerlessness helps de Beauvoir to make her point.
