Gender in translating lesbianism in The Second Sex

Abstract

Drawing on three Chinese translations of the lesbian chapter in Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, this paper examines at the micro level how the discussions on lesbianism in the work are translated and what role gender identity plays in the process of translation. Lesbianism has played an important part in feminism. However, homosexuality is still regarded as unacceptable to most Chinese people. Thus, an examination of translations of lesbianism in The Second Sex might be especially revealing in terms of representation of Western feminism. The comparison reveals that there are obvious differences between the translations by the female translators and the male translators. The differences mainly lie in translation strategies, understanding of lesbianism, and attitudes towards lesbianism. In these differences, gender plays a key role.