caption country pages published title_orig oclc language author genre image article_title translator name
the original french edition france 800 1949 le deuxième sexe 20905133 french simone de beauvoir philosophy feminism le deuxième sexe.jpg the second sex
 constance borde and sheila malovany-chevalier the second sex
the second sex

the second sex -lrb- -rrb- is a 1949 book by the french existentialist simone de beauvoir .
one of her best-known books , it deals with the treatment of women throughout history and is often regarded as a major work of feminist philosophy and the starting point of second-wave feminism .
beauvoir researched and wrote the book in about 14 months when she was 38 years old .
she published it in two volumes and some chapters first appeared in `` les temps modernes '' .
the vatican placed it on its `` list of prohibited books '' .
