Lauren Sharkey:

Written in 1949, this early feminist text stemmed from de Beauvoir’s realisation that the first sentence that, in her own head, defined her was: “I am a woman.” The Second Sex is a powerful exploration of women as the “other”, examining historical, mythical and scientific representations to argue that women are taught to be their gender. It may be 70 years old, but its ideas of oppression and liberation are still relevant reading today.

Mary Evans:

The big one: a starting point for many feminists. A very long book but with a simple message …women are constructed as the ‘other’. Beauvoir does not do social complexity but what she does with great confidence is the assertion of her thesis. Its an essential book to read and to consider in terms of its many implications for the ways in which we think about gender in the twenty first century.

"I hesitated a long time before writing a book on woman," De Beauvoir begins. "The subject is irritating, especially for women; and it is not new. Enough ink has flowed over the quarrel about feminism; it is now almost over: let's not talk about it anymore." This was in 1959—and the sentiment is as fresh now as it was then, just like (most of) the rest of De Beauvoir's lucid book, equal parts literary and philosophical. All else aside, it's one of the most classic feminist texts in the language. And men should read more of those.