A Survey of Maternal Instinct of Contemporary Feminists Based on the Theories of Simone De Beauvoir's Homogeneity and Heterogeneity

Abstract

A survey of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, known as the mother of feminists, shows that she was trying to reject maternal instinct. She considers maternity a kind of slavery for women and demands that women not get married and particularly avoid having babies to end the patriarchy system if they want to succeed in their lives. Some of the feminist movement activists disagreed with her views; consequently, there emerged a gap between them. Some of them believed that maternity is a privilege for women that cannot possibly reached by men. They maintain that women are born to be mothers, something which is in their nature. In recent years, following Simone de Beauvoir, Elisabth Badinter once again posed the issue of maternal instinct and rejected it. Her views were criticized by some feminists including Sarah Blaffer Hrdy who believes that during pregnancy and having babies, women's bodies exude hormones indicating maternal instinct. Furthermore, several authors currently rejected what feminists had said earlier and represented a new figure of mothers. They present a mother not as a passive person who is away from social activities, but as an active one in different areas while doing things concerning their children. However, since being a mother and giving birth to children have got limitations, in recent years, efforts have been made to provide coordination between the job condition in the society and the condition of pregnant mothers or those having babies to be able to compromise between motherhood and freedom so that they prosper scientifically, educationally, economically and politically.