Jerry Maguire vs. Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir’s position in her work, “The Second Sex,” is that women have been defined as the “other sex,” which is nonstandard to the "normal" male sex, who is in the role of the “absolute.” In it she asks, “what is a woman?” “Tota mulier in utero,” or “woman is womb,” is the answer. In essence, woman is defined by biology. Yet, she argues, is women’s femininity found in the ovaries? Is that what makes us women or even human?

In the film, Jerry Maguire, by Cameron Crowe, we are shown two women of the opposite spectrum. Dorothy Boyd and Avery Bishop are two representations of the traditional and modern and woman. Dorothy has had an infatuation on her boss, Jerry, for a long time and faithfully, she stands by his side through thick and thin. On the other hand, there is Jerry's fiance, Avery, who, like Jerry, is in business and basically always gets what she wants.

After watching clips from the film, I am torn between these two characters. Whose side am I on? Whose side should I be on? The filmmaker makes it seem that we want to root for Dorothy who is the more traditional, romantic character, who is the one that waits for Jerry to come back to her. She is the standard damsel in distress.

 Thus, Avery represents the modern woman. She is a tough, headstrong, businesswoman who takes no for an answer. She is essentially, the opposite of what women were like at the time of Simone de Beauvoir’s article. Assertive, progressive and commanding, she did not let her “ovaries,” define her. Case in point, here is a quote said by Avery after responding to Jerry and his predicament with his unemployment;

“There is a sensitivity thing that some people have. I don't have it. I don't cry at movies, I don't gush over babies, I don't buy Christmas presents 5 months early, and I DON'T tell the guy who just ruined both our lives, "Oh, poor baby." But I do love you.”

 Yet, in this quote, she sounds harsh, emotionless and demanding. So, what is the screenwriter hinting at? Should we not support Avery? Is she supposed to be the antagonist of the film? Because she sounds and acts like an emotionless jerk, does that mean she was wrong in the way she acted? This viewpoint is similar to a point Beauvoir made in her argument saying that, “A man is in the right in being a man; it is the woman who is in the wrong,” it is in a woman’s own nature that imprisons, hinders her in her subjectivity. So essentially, no matter how Avery acted, her actions would be wrong because inherently we are all on Jerry’s side.

 Ultimately, Beauvoir would see Dorothy as the woman who is stuck in this "passive" role, whereas Avery is the woman who has removed this role and created her own. Yet, both characters are distinctively more stronger, powerful and radical than the majority of women during Beauvoir's time. 

Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. 1972.  Print.