Beauvoir, Simone de

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French socialist, feminist, and writer. She played a large role in French intellectual life from the 1940s to the 1980s. Her book Le Deuxième Sexe/The Second Sex (1949), one of the first major feminist texts, is an encyclopedic study of the role of women in society, drawing on literature, myth, and history. In this work she argues that the subservient position of women is the result of their systematic repression by a male-dominated society that denies their independence, identity, and sexuality.

She also published novels, including Les Mandarins/The Mandarins (1954; winner of the Prix Goncourt), and many autobiographical volumes. She taught philosophy at the University of Paris 1931–43 and was a lifelong companion of the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre; La Cérémonie des Adieux/Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre (1981) gives an intimate insight into their relationship.

The disc represents the full moon, traditionally the most auspicious time for work and celebration. The disc is set towards the hoist. Effective date: 1 January 1981. >>