Manon Garcia, "We Are Not Born Submissive: How Patriarchy Shapes Women's Lives" (Princeton UP, 2021)
We are here today with Manon Garcia, the author of\xa0We Are Not Born Submissive: How Patriarchy Shapes Women\u2019s Lives,\xa0published this year, 2021, by Princeton University Press. The book was originally published in 2018 by Climats as\xa0On ne na\xeet pas soumise, on le devient.\nThis book was a phenomenon and a runaway bestseller\xa0when released in France. We are lucky to have outstanding translation from the author herself in English suited to an American and English\xa0audience.\nWhat role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. In philosophy, even less has been said on why women submit to men and the discussion has been equally contradictory\u2014submission has traditionally been considered a vice or pathology, but female submission has been valorized as innate to women\u2019s nature. Is there a way to explore female submission in all of its complexity\u2014not denying its appeal in certain instances, and not buying into an antifeminist, sexist, or misogynistic perspective?\n\nWe Are Not Born Submissive\xa0offers the first in-depth philosophical exploration of female submission, focusing on the thinking of Simone de Beauvoir, and more recent work in feminist philosophy, epistemology, and political theory. Manon Garcia argues that to comprehend female submission, we must invert how we examine power and see it from the woman\u2019s point of view. Historically, philosophers, psychoanalysts, and even some radical feminists have conflated femininity and submission. Garcia demonstrates that only through the lens of women\u2019s lived experiences\u2014their economic, social, and political situations\u2014and how women adapt their preferences to maintain their own well-being, can we understand the ways in which gender hierarchies in society shape women\u2019s experiences. Ultimately, she asserts that women do not actively choose submission. Rather, they consent to\u2014and sometimes take pleasure in\u2014what is prescribed to them through social norms within a patriarchy.\n\nMoving beyond the simplistic binary of natural destiny or moral vice,\xa0We Are Not Born Submissive\xa0takes a sophisticated look at how female submissiveness can be explained.\nJana Byars\xa0is the Academic Director of Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies