I realized that even if we went on talking till Judgment Day, I would still find the time all too short.

One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine.

To be oneself, simply oneself, is so amazing and utterly unique an experience that it's hard to convince oneself so singular a thing happens to everybody.

A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied. And it is not true that the recognition of the freedom of others limits my own freedom: to be free is not to have the power to do anything you like; it is to be able to surpass the given toward an open future; the existence of others as a freedom defines my situation and is even the condition of my own freedom. I am oppressed if I am thrown into prison, but not if I am kept from throwing my neighbor into prison.

For years I thought my work still lay ahead, and now I find it is behind me: there was no moment when it took place.

If the feminine issue is so absurd, is because the male's arrogance made it "a discussion

When women act like women, they are accused of being inferior. When women act like human beings, they are accused of behaving like men.