Audio 1
Okay. So, are you ready to dive into a topic that's well, let's just say it's definitely got people talking. It sure has. It's mansplaining. You know that thing where often it's a guy, right? He's explaining something. Right. But he's doing it with such confidence, you almost wouldn't guess that he might actually have no clue what he's talking about. Yeah, the confidence is key.
Audio 2
Like it's that feeling of someone talking at you, not really with you.
Audio 3
But Mr. Very important. He just blows right past it like it's nothing. Oh wow. He's just laser focused on, you know, the sound of his own voice. Of course.
Audio 4
Create a world where everyone feels like they're being heard and respected and valued for who they are, for their experiences. Wouldn't that be incredible? It really would.
Audio 5
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. Yeah. Um, published back in 1949. 1949. And this wasn't just another book. No. It was like a cultural earthquake, right? So, total game changer. It set the whole modern feminist movement on fire. It did.
Audio 6
But de Beauvoir, she doesn't stop there, does she? She also takes aim at literature and cultural representations Oh yeah. to show how they perpetuate these myths about women.
Audio 7
Yeah, that's true.
Audio 8
I bet there are some pretty outrageous lines from those old Greek playwrights, mm-hmm you know, talking about women being burdens or sources of trouble. Oh, there are. Classic misogyny. mm-hmm.
Audio 9
Oh yeah, the classic fairy tale trope. Damsel in distress waiting for her prince charming to rescue her. It's everywhere. Exactly.
Audio 10
I think every woman remembers it. You're caught between childhood and adulthood right trying to figure out who you are, where you fit in, while dealing with all this societal pressure. mm-hmm.
Audio 11
Be lady like.
Audio 12
And she analyzes the psychological effects of this double bind. All that shame, anxiety, and confusion. Yeah. I remember feeling like I was constantly being judged, like I could never quite measure up.
Audio 13
All those movies and books that tell us a woman's happiness depends entirely on finding a man, on surrendering her life to him. It's a powerful narrative, that's for sure. And it's been around for centuries.
Audio 14
This room is more of a metaphor right for something much bigger like intellectual and financial freedom okay. The space to think your own thoughts and pursue your passions without being bogged down by practicalities yeah or societal expectations yeah.
Audio 15
But think about how many other women might have possessed similar talent right but just didn't have the support right or the freedom to develop it yeah.
Audio 16
She describes these soul-crushing menial jobs she had to take before that inheritance. Right. This feeling of being trapped mm-hmm, the poison of fear and bitterness that kind of seeped into her days.