14-2 de Beauvoir

 de Beauvour was one of the first modern feminist. She wrote extensively about women's struggle, but she also wrote about philosophy. In her book The Second Sex, de Beauvoit wrote that women are not born women, women become women. Women are born into a society of men and then become what men expected them to become. Our discussion was about not letting society determine who you are, let yourself determine who you are.

We discussed examples of individuals breaking from what society would consider normal. For example, gothic emo kids who cut themselves. The question is, should society step in and stop certain actions or let them "express themselves". Many in our group agreed that when an individual starts to “self- mutilate” themselves, then society should stop them. Dr. Oliver added to our discussion that he felt that we should allow some “self-expression”.  

Our discussion then turned to women’s role in our society. The impact women have on sports, such as football and wrestling. Some felt that the game cannot be played correctly when men and women play together. The fear of women getting hurt or becoming offended when accidentally touched inappropriately.  We then discussed the recent decision to allow women to serve in combat units in the military. The question was, are the standards going to be upheld or are they going to be relaxed to allow more women to serve. There seem to be an agreement that women do have physical limitations, however, if a woman can meet the same standards set for men, then there is no reason they can’t serve in combat units.

Also, it’s Skye Sanders birthday on Wednesday the 27^th. Don’t forget to wish her a happy birthday.