I was struck by the contemporary feel of de Beauvoir. I feel like almost everything she says is applicable in today's world. In the Introduction, she says "[...] we must face the question, "what is a woman"? To state the question is, to me, to suggest, at once, a preliminary answer. the fact that I ask it is in itself significant. A man would never set out to write a book on the peculiar situation of the human male... A man never begins by presenting himself as an individual or a certain sex." This is part of privilege.

When we talk about white privilege, part of it is never having to ask yourself "What does it mean to be white? What does my ethnicity/race mean?", which is why many white people don't think about themselves as "raced". White privilege is parallel to male privilege (and any other kind of identity privilege). Privilege is conferred by power and confers power. Our society, culture, and structures were created by white people/men for white people/men and the same people continue to shape it. This means they can go about their lives without ever encountering a structure that challenges them or denies them an opportunity, and, therefore, they can live comfortably without constantly being confronted by their race/ethnicity/gender. As de Beauvoir points out, the very fact that she must examine her gender is an example of the "otherness" of it. "Man" is default. Everything else must be defined, measured, and differentiated against it.