Question

"As a matter of fact, man, like woman, is flesh, therefore passive the plaything of his hormones and of the species, the restless prey of his desires."

Quote from pg 305 of Existentialism From The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. Just need a paragraph or so explaining what this quote means to you

Answer 1

Focusing on the mutuality of the difficulties and pleasures of human sexuality the author Simone de Beauvoir​ beautifully & clearly make us easier to understand the concept of heterosexual sexuality. But it is applicable for utopian description of heterosexual sexuality​ because it requires a state of equality between the sexes which does not yet exist. Beauvoir's needs to be appreciated as a philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist & also a type of social and moral critic. She is the one who choose to workout argument with society through erotic experience. She claimed that an analysis of women's erotism is necessary, it remains unfinished in 'The second sex'. In this work Beauvoir adopts a position that remains problematic in two ways: 1. It is an analysis of female erotism that is based on male dominance as it describes woman's experience as passive whereas men's experience as active & 2. It opposes the existentialist analysis as it focuses on the determining factors that limit women. Beauvoir maintains that eroticism is that dimension of human existence that has to do with sexual but also denotes a situation & a lived experience not a collection of mere body facts. The body is not a thing, it is a situation she says. Erotism cannot be reduced to mere energy or reflex but should be understood as a form of desire that is a choice of a human consciousness.