Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique
Widely credited as a major catalyst for the second wave of feminism in the US, The Feminine Mystique was a book written by Betty Friedan that argued against women being confined to traditional domestic roles and challenged the assumption that women found fulfillment in simply being housewives and mothers.
In The Feminine Mystique, Friedan described the sense of emptiness or unfulfillment that many housewives, including her, often felt as “the problem with no name.” She argued that for both men and women, a sense of personal achievement was a defining part of one’s identity, particularly through a career and asserted that women were as capable as men in the workplace. In contrast from previous feminist movements that called for expansion of women’s rights to ultimately make them better wives and mothers, Friedan argued that expansion of political and social rights should be based on a will to be all that one could be. The Feminine Mystique was a bestseller and struck a chord with many other women.
Women were galvanized to take action and started lobbying for reform and seeking new opportunities for themselves. Betty Friedan also became an extremely influential and controversial public figure. She further expanded the movement started by The Feminine Mystique by creating the National Organization for Women(NOW), the National Association for Repeal of Abortion Laws, and the National Women’s Political Caucus. NOW successfully campaigned for affirmative action to be extended to women and for sex-segregated want ads to be illegal. She also led the Women’s strike for equality.
Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique were major catalysts in the 1960s and sparked a new wave of feminism that challenged traditional domestic roles and encouraged women to question their roles in society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feminine_Mystique
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Feminine-Mystique
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/betty-friedan
Natalie, your post describes in great detail the relationship between the Feminine Mystique and Betty Friedan's role in the feminist movement. I think it would be great if you can reflect Friedan's ideas and influences upon the current feminist movement.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really well-written post and I like that you came to a consensus based on the research you presented. I had no idea that affirmative action extended to women and I'm glad I got to learn more about someone that pushed the women's rights movement forward into a new age.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting article! It surprised me to see how much the feminine mystique affected the feminist movement. This really expressed the widespread use of books and communication to express the idea that many women were not happy with being confined to the house.
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