Meryl Altman, "Beauvoir in Time" (Brill, 2020)
Meryl Altman's new book\xa0Beauvoir in Time,\xa0published by Brill Rodopi Press (2020), situates Simone de Beauvoir's\xa0The Second Sex\xa0(1949) in its historical context and responds to criticism that muddles what she actually said about sex, race and class. She takes up three aspects of Beauvoir's work today\u2019s feminists find problematic: the characterizations of the frigid woman and lesbians, the analogy of race and class that obscures Black and working-class women and her examples drawn from white middle-class experience. Charged with ethnocentrism, her contribution is distorted by\xa0not considering her\xa0place and time. Through close reading of Beauvoir's writing in many genres, alongside expansive criticism, Altman shows that what appears as a problem for feminist theory is best understood by a full consideration of Beauvoir\u2019s engagement with Freudian, Marxist and anticolonial thinkers. Extremely helpful in understanding the place of\xa0The Second Sex\xa0within international feminist theory, Altman offers insights into how Beauvoir is still relevant in the age of intersectionality and identity politics.\nMeryl Altman is Professor of English and Women's Studies at DePauw University.\nLilian Calles Barger\xa0is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her most recent book is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology (Oxford University Press, 2018). Her current writing project is on the intellectual history of women and the origins of feminism seen through the emblematic life and work of Simone de Beauvoir.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies