Throughout The Second Sex, de Beauvoir draws heavily on existentialist philosophy. It is important to understand the greater context for this philosophy, in order to more fully grasp de Beauvoir's position and contributions to feminist theory. It is also important to note the ways in which de Beauvoir deviates from this philosophy or makes new contributions. While existentialism forms the basis for many of de Beauvoir's ideas, it does not fully encapsulate her thinking, and it would be reductive to assume that she is simply repeating existentialist ideas.
Existentialism is commonly associated with Jean Paul Sartre, who was Simon de Beauvoir's longterm partner and one of her inspirations. In her analysis of The Second Sex, Dorothy Kaufmann McCall points out that terms like "immanence" and "transcendence" come from Sartre's work, Being and Nothingness. She explains that immanence refers to the aspects of human existence that are guaranteed and passive, while true freedom lies in a kind of transcendence that takes a person beyond the given and toward a project that contributes something new and creative to the world. Existentialism is concerned with understanding human purpose in life, and posits that this purpose lies in "transcending" what is given and natural. One of the central assumptions of existentialism is that there is no God, which means that humans define and are defined by one another, as opposed to some kind of divine purpose. In other words, there is no single "subject," but rather everyone can be either subject or object depending on their social position.
These existentialist ideas clearly shaped many of de Beauvoir's basic assumptions. Like Sartre, she also assumes there is no God, and that humans define one another within a social context. However, McCall points out that de Beauvoir reinterprets these ideas in a feminist context; she argues that men define themselves as the subject and generally view women as an object. In de Beauvoir's interpretation, being a subject vs an object is not up to the individual, but is rather defined along the lines of gender. Even when men might have seemed historically to value or worship women, de Beauvoir explains that women have always been defined by men and men have always viewed women as outside of society. Thus, women have always remained an Other or an object, no matter what kinds of societal rights they might have been given. Part of the reason for men's ability and desire to dominate lies in their physical superiority. According to existentialist philosophy, humans tend to want to dominate, control, and create the world. However, according to de Beauvoir, it is men who were able to do this at women's expense because of their physical and social advantages.
McCall points out that Sartre's philosophy can itself be regarded as either feminist or not, depending on one's perspective. His main focus is on establishing how humans can find freedom, and he believes that this freedom lies in dominating and surpassing nature. This could mean that there is no such thing as natural feminine inferiority, since Sartre rejects the concept of any type of "human nature." However, it could also be interpreted to mean that women are less free and fully human than men are because they tend toward more "natural" activities and submissive positions. As de Beauvoir interprets existentialism, however, there is promise in this definition of humanity: if we are truly free only by surpassing our human condition, then women can also be free if they are given the option to be more productive and creative in society.
