-
Philosophy exam
Simone de Beauvoir took second place in a competitive philosophy exam.I believe this was a pivotal moment for Simone on her journey to becoming an equal rights advocate because it showed how men had an unfair advantage in education at the time. The person who won first place had already taken the test before, and the other men who had placed high went to the best preparatory classes and were official students at the college, which Simone was not.
Source: https://iep.utm.edu/simone-de-beauvoir/ -
Death of close friend
Simone's close friend Elizabeth Mabille died from meningitis. This death had an unimaginable impact on Simone and was pivotal for her. Although the doctors said she died from meningitis, Simone believed she died from a broken heart due to pressures on Elizabeth to agree to an arranged marriage. After her death, Simone openly criticized traditions such as arranged marriage that put a monetary price and unfair pressure on women.
Source: https://iep.utm.edu/simone-de-beauvoir/ -
The Second Sex
In 1949, Simone published The Second Sex. In the book, she argued that women are not naturally inferior to men. Instead, she said society places women in lower social status. After this book was published, she became the face of second-wave feminism. Before this book, she never viewed herself as a feminist, so I think she became more accepting of that title during this time, which paved the way for her later advocacy.
Source: https://hist259.web.unc.edu/secondsex/ -
Abortion manifesto
Simone created and signed a manifesto that included her and 343 other women who admitted to having an abortion when it was illegal in France. Following the publication of this manifesto, Simone fully accepted being labeled a feminist and supported the movement. I believe this moment was significant because she finally embraced being known as an equal rights advocate and solidified her place in the feminist movement.
Source: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauvoir/