We Are Not Born Submissive

 A philosophical exploration of female submission, using insights from feminist thinkers - especially Simone de Beauvoir - to reveal the complexities of women's reality and lived experience

"Garcia works diligently to refute the myth of the ‘eternal feminine,’ or that women are submissive by nature."  -  Kirkus Reviews

What role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. 

In philosophy, even less has been said on why women submit to men and the discussion has been equally contradictory - submission has traditionally been considered a vice or pathology, but female submission has been valourized as innate to women's nature. Is there a way to explore female submission in all of its complexity - not denying its appeal in certain instances, and not buying into an antifeminist, sexist, or misogynistic perspective?

We Are Not Born Submissive offers the first in-depth philosophical exploration of female submission, focusing on the thinking of Simone de Beauvoir, and more recent work in feminist philosophy, epistemology, and political theory. Manon Garcia argues that to comprehend female submission, we must invert how we examine power and see it from the woman's point of view.

"Beautifully written and a delight to read... Garcia’s book is a fascinating provocation for contemporary feminism that deserves a broad readership."  -  Ellie Anderson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Moving beyond the simplistic binary of natural destiny or moral vice, We Are Not Born Submissive takes a sophisticated look at how female submissiveness can be explained.