Existential Feminism: The possibility Of woman's existence ın the philosophy Of Heidegger, Sartre And Simone De Beauvoir

The common thread among different feminist perspectives that examine the concept of woman from social, historical, individual and philosophical perspectives is the idea that women are disadvantaged in a masculine world. This disadvantaged positioning of women has been critically analyzed from different feminist perspectives and various views have been propounded. In this study, different feminist approaches will be addressed while the existential feminism will be taken as a basis in the context of Simone de Beauvoir's views. Having an important place in the literature on the concept of woman with her work Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir questioned the concept of woman with an existentialist approach in this work and developed the existential feminism approach, which is quite different from other feminist approaches. Beauvoir argues that the way to improve the negative situation of women is for them to correctly understand and act upon their own existence. The viability of existential feminism was demonstrated by Beauvoir by applying it to her own life. The main purpose is to reveal the existence of many feminist movements and to show that the solutions offered by these movements are not sufficient for improving the marginalized position of women in the first part of the study. The second section deals with the conceptions of existence of Heidegger and Sartre, whose philosophies of existence Beauvoir was most influenced by, as well as propounding her idea of existential feminism. The purpose of this chapter is to reveal that Beauvoir was influenced by Heidegger and Sartre's philosophy of being to a great extent. In the third section, on the other hand, it is intended to propose when and where both genders become separated from one another –particularly within the context of Beauvoir's most significant work Second Sex. At the same time, the veracity of this solution proposal by Beauvoir is discussed with the idea whether it might be implemented both theoretically and practically. The purpose of the study is to argue that the solution proposals of movements other than existential feminism for the improvement of the disadvantaged position of women evaluate the existing position of women from a narrow perspective and cannot be a realistic solution women might apply to their lives in a practical sense, and to introduce Simone De Beauvoir's existential feminism as the applicable one. In this respect, the study is restricted to the frameworks of Simone de Beauvoir, one of the most important representatives of existential feminism, and Heidegger and Sartre, the existential philosophers who influenced Beauvoir greatly. The importance of the study is to express that the improvement of the disadvantaged position of women is not only important for women, but will positively affect society in general. Key Words: Existentialism, Feminism, Beauvoir, Woman