I bought the complete, unabridged paperback edition from Vintage Books (translated by Borde & Malovany-Chevallier) a long time ago. I started reading it soon after, only to become overwhelmed by the first section (“Biological Data”), so I put it on the backburner for a while. Finally, I started over a few months ago, and I feel I understand most of what she says despite no previous experience reading philosophical texts. I’m on page 439.
It’s an interesting book, but sometimes I find it very dense and difficult to read for extended periods of time. Much of it has become outdated (especially the Freudian bits) but I think it’s still worth reading, if only to see how feminist thought has changed over time. I just finished “The Lesbian” section and it took me by surprise.
Have you read it? Why? Do you feel it enriched your understanding of the topics it discusses? Which parts do you think remain relevant, and which parts are not?
by BrieflyBlue