Second Sex

Prime (default: 3 days)

1. Map (20–30 min)
   Read a short overview so you know the book’s shape (2 volumes, what “Other” means, what she’s trying to explain).
   Prompt: write 3 questions you want the book to answer.
2. Tools (20–30 min)
   Learn the minimum existentialism vocabulary she uses: freedom/situation, immanence/transcendence, “becoming”.
   Prompt: write 2 examples of “constraint” vs “choice” in your own life.
3. Othering (20–30 min)
   Get the simplified pattern: Subject vs Other; one side becomes “default human”, the other becomes defined relative to it.
   Prompt: where do you see “default vs marked” categories in culture?

Optional extension (4 more days)

4. Freud (20 min)
   Just enough to recognize what “Freud explains X” means (family/psyche/sexual development) so her critiques make sense.
5. Marx (20 min)
   Headline only: material conditions, labor/property, institutions. You’re not studying Marx; you’re learning the target.
6. Method (20 min)
   She mixes philosophy + history + literature + lived experience; expect a layered “case file”, not a single clean proof.
7. Companion (20–30 min)
   Pick one short guide/lecture and stop there. The goal is momentum, not completeness.

Start reading (rules)

• Time-box: 30–45 min per sit. Stop mid-confident, not exhausted.
• 3-line log: claim / example / pushback (or surprise).
• Skim catalogues: if it turns into a long survey, hunt thesis sentences and move on.
• Anti-procrastination trigger: if you’ve primed 3 sessions, start reading the book.

Version note

• Recommended: Borde + Malovany‑Chevallier (2009) translation if you can choose.
• If you already have another translation: it’s still worth reading—just expect occasional “why is this muddy?” moments.

Later (answer when you feel like it)

• Do you want a philosophy-first or social-history-first pass?
• Do you prefer priming via reading, audio/video, or mix?