Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” is a seminal existentialist work on feminism, first published in 1949. Her ideas played an essential role in initiating the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. Nevertheless, we take pride in the fact that the revolutionary Periyar EVR introduced these concepts in his groundbreaking book “Pen Yen Adimaiyaanal” in 1933.

Periyar went beyond Beauvoir’s ideas to denounce toxic masculinity and critique it as a threat to women’s liberation. This concept was not even advanced by Beauvoir. Furthermore, Periyar introduced several unique concepts, such as contraception as a means of women’s liberation and the right to choose not to have children. These concepts were remarkably ahead of their time and continue to inspire us today.

This book presents some of the extraordinary concepts of Periyar that have had a significant impact on the feminist movement.