Gender, Race, and the Sexual Contract

A Cross-Analysis of Simone de Beauvoir, Carole Pateman and Lélia Gonzalez

Abstract

The text articulates the contributions of Simone de Beauvoir, Carole Pateman and Lélia Gonzalez, to the understanding of women’s oppression in Western societies. Beauvoir analyzes the social construction of woman as the “Other” to man, which underlies her subordination. Gonzalez critiques the Eurocentrism of traditional feminism, highlighting that Black women are the “other of the other,” marked by intersecting oppressions of gender, race, and class. Her concept of “amefricanidade” proposes valuing Afro-Latin American knowledge. Pateman, in turn, reveals that the modern social contract is based on a prior sexual contract that institutionalizes male domination through practices such as marriage and prostitution. Through the dialogue among these authors, the text argues that women’s liberation requires an intersectional critique of patriarchy, racism, and political structures that deny women — especially Black women — full access to citizenship, body, and desire.