Book description
"One is not born a woman, but becomes one", Simone de Beauvoir A symbol of liberated womanhood, Simone de Beauvoir's unconventional relationships inspired and scandalised her generation. A philosopher, writer, and feminist icon, she won prestigious literary prizes and transformed the way we think about gender with The Second Sex.…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Becoming Beauvoir as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I’ve read a lot of biographies of Simone de Beauvoir.
But this is the one that best brought out her importance as a philosopher, the many ways in which her thought differed from Sartre’s and the ways in which this has been obscured by a posterity that just wants to see her as his sidekick.
One thing that this book did for me that others on Beauvoir didn’t was to reconcile me with the unpleasant aspects of her life and relationships – she was human, she was flawed, but so were her male peers!
From Sandrine's list on The best books by or about women philosophers you should know but probably don't.
"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman," wrote Simone de Beauvoir in 1949 in her bestseller The Second Sex.
To sum up this famous quotation, it's not because you are a woman that you should enjoy cooking or doing the dishes.
We always link Simone de Beauvoir to Sartre but Simone decided who she wanted to be before meeting Jean-Paul. This is what the British author Kate Kirkpatrick tells us in this new biography.
Believe me, there are never enough biographies about Simone de Beauvoir, the iconic French feminist.
You think Simone de Beauvoir is old-fashioned? "Never…
From Edith's list on The best books about French women according a French woman.
If you love Becoming Beauvoir...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like Becoming Beauvoir?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Becoming Beauvoir.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
164
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Becoming Beauvoir, you might also like...
The Tao of Poison
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
Big Ideas... For Small Businesses
Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…
