The Second Sex

It is said that there are two sexes; the first sex and the second sex. The first is male
and the second is female. It is so because this world is patriarchal. That is everything is
always viewed from male point of view. The language also is patriarchal for in Lacanian,
woman is described as the other, that is part from self, and men is self itself. Thus, to
understand the other is used selfs point of view. In other words, women are always
subordinated; they can not discover their own self. Moroever,Victorian Physician believed,
as Elain Showalter points out, that female physiological function diverted about twenty
percent of their creative energy from their brain activity. Meanwhile Victorian
anthropologist believed that males brain are larger than that of females. thus, women were
inferior in intelligence.
Feminism as Critical Theory
On account of males point of view of female, that women are subordinated, appears
a movement that women must be equal to men. This movement is then named Feminism.
The movement appeared in the late of 1960s. it deconstructed a view that women are
theorized, or subordinated by men. According to Ratna megawangi, there are two general
kinds of feminists. First, feminist who sees she must go trough masculine world in order
that they can match men. Thus, women need to adopt masculine quality in order to compete
with them. Second, feminist who view that there must be the difference, in depth, between
women and men, so that it pulls out feminine and masculine quality. In other word, this
type has opinion that to destroy male hegemony is to show feminine quality.
As contemporary critical theory grow, feminism becomes a theory of both cultural
studies and literature. In cultural studies, there are many forms of feminism such as:
sociialist-feminism,radical-feminism and liberal feminism, and furthermore appear feminist
theology which is a freedom theology for those who have been theorized or subordinated.
In literary work or literature, feminism, then becomes a theory of criticism. It is so
because a written text is a representative on text of real life. Feminism criticism has
gradually shifted its center from revisionary readings to a sustained investigation of
literature bay woman. In literature field, as Raman Selden points out, there are two kinds of
feminist criticism; reading as a woman and writing as a woman.
Reading as a woman, the reader act as if he or she is woman. The text which is exist
in front of as is viewed as it is a kind of woman. Thus we analyze it as the same as the
woman view the text.
Writing as a woman, can appear the quality of feminin.The writer represent her
idea her text and represent her idea by their own point of view. In this case the women seem
to have their on world, that always represent male quality.
Women in Language and Society
In the society, that is patriarchal, mass media also takes apart in building this
opinion that women ere theorized. For example, the news about abortion. Those who does
this is always viewed as someone who has no moral at all. She is devil. But the media does

not show the man who also makes her does such a like. Thus mass media is male empire
that does not give a chance to women to discover their own.
Meanwhile, language is seen as something that participates in making the opinion of
patriarchal. Language is not merely a tool of communication as it is believed by empiristspositivists in the early of this century. In positivism, as far as experience can be expressed
in language viewed by logic syntax ad to correspond to the reality, that there is no distortion
in language which appearing reality. Language, even, can be loaded by the power to
organize social connections by something we do not realize.
Language becomes a hidden weapon which is used by those who have powerful, in
this case male, to press and make silent those who are subordinated. It is hidden because
first, the power is crown and agreed by those who is ruled. Second, in fact, the view toward
world run on effectively and unrealizable by those who are subordinated.
Actually female identity can appear in language, be appeared, or be made. This
identity appears when women come in a small world that is for them. A small world where
as if women have a language; a place where women met language that can discover who
are they. In fact, it is a language which is there when who are they refers to groupize which
go through a world which is traditionally for women. And, language just gives a shadow to
their self as a tool of patriarchal society.
Language and mass media become the power that reconstruct the reality, and this
reality is depended on the interest of certain authority which becomes influence the world
that there is two kind of human being, man and woman, where the man is superior and the
woman is inferior. It odes mean that mass media does no more give the balance
information, rather appears an imaginative world to fulfill the interest.
This reality causes the women to become a second one, that they always are faced
with self-mistake.
Here, however, we know to that language is a home. Exist, actually not for women.
Does not the existence of women become unmeaning when they did not find their own
home in the language?