Elizabeth Gould Davis

Elizabeth Gould Davis (June 23, 1910 – July 30, 1974) was an American librarian who wrote a feminist book called The First Sex.[1]

Elizabeth Gould Davis
Davis in 1970
Davis in 1970
Born1910
Leavenworth, Kansas, United States
DiedJuly 30, 1974(1974-07-30) (aged 64)
Sarasota, Florida
OccupationAuthor, librarian
EducationMaster's degree in librarianship
Alma materUniversity of Kentucky
Period1971
Literary movementSecond-wave feminism
Notable worksThe First Sex

Early life and education

Davis was born in Leavenworth, Kansas to Colonel Robert Davis and Edwina Bailey McCarty, one of four daughters. The family traveled extensively when she was growing up.[2] She received her A. B. degree from Randolph-Macon College and, after a brief marriage in 1934, went on to earn her master's degree in librarianship at the University of Kentucky in 1951.[3] She worked as a librarian at Sarasota, Florida, and while there, wrote The First Sex.[3]

The First Sex

Davis had originally intended The First Sex to be "a short essay on wrongs towards women" inspired by the death of her sister in 1968.[4] As she researched, she learned more about historical periods when women were in charge, and about subsequent anti-women prejudices.[4] She argued that congenital killers and criminals have two Y chromosomes, that men say they don't mind women being successful but require femininity when feminine qualities work against success, and that a matriarchy should replace the existing patriarchy.[5] Prof. Ginette Castro criticized Davis' position as grounded "in the purest female chauvinism."[6]

Davis committed suicide on July 30, 1974, by shooting herself. According to feminist author Andrea Dworkin, Davis' suicide was largely impacted by the rape she underwent a few years prior in 1971, as well as the cancer she suffered from.[7] Her papers are held by the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA.[8]

Bibliography
  • 1971: The First Sex, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-003504-4

References
  1. Jones, Judith P. (2000). "DAVIS, Elizabeth Gould". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  2. "SOCIETY". Evening Star. Washington DC. November 27, 1931. p. B-2. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  3. Davis, Elizabeth Gouyld (1975). The First Sex. Putnam. p. Preface. ISBN 9780140035049. Retrieved July 27, 2020 – via Internet Archive. Miss Davis received her A. B. degree from Randolph- Macon College and, after a brief marriage, went on to earned her master's degree in librarianship at the University of Kentucky in 1951.
  4. Glendining, Sally (August 30, 1970). "Sarasota Librarian Writes 'First Sex'". The Miami Herald. p. 18F. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. Davis, Elizabeth Gould, The First Sex (N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1971 (Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 79-150582)), p. 18 and see p. 339.
  6. Castro, Ginette, trans. Elizabeth Loverde-Bagwell, American Feminism: A Contemporary History (N.Y.: N.Y. Univ. Press, 1990 (ISBN 0-8147-1448-X)), p. 36 and see pp. 26, 27, 32–36, & 42 (trans. from Radioscopie du féminisme américain (Paris, France: Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1984) (French)) (author prof. Eng. lang. & culture, Univ. of Bordeaux III, France).
  7. Dworkin, Andrea (1981). Our blood : prophecies and discourses on sexual politics (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50575-X. OCLC 7553475.
  8. "Elizabeth Gould Davis Papers 1990-1999". Online Archive of California. November 26, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
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