Landmark, groundbreaking, classicthese adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and longlasting effects of betty friedans. Hundreds of women wrote to her to say that the book. The feminine mystique says that the highest value and the only commitment for women is the fulfillment of their own femininity, betty friedan wrote in the feminine mystique s second chapter, the happy housewife heroine. Defining this concept in her book is thought to have started 1960s.
I have never experienced anything as powerful, truly mystical, as the forces. Complete summary of betty friedans the feminine mystique. Video the feminine mystique watch makers women who make. Betty friedans the feminine mystique published 50 years ago this week, on february 19, 1963 catalyzed the modern feminist movement, helped forever change americans attitudes about womens role in society, and catapulted its author into becoming an influential and controversial public figure. The modern feminist movement began with the feminine mystique, the name given by betty friedan to the outrageously restrictive social roles. The feminine mystique and womens equality 50 years. Are the ideas promoted in the book the feminine mystique popular today. Anna quindlen is an awardwinning columnist and novelist. What was betty friedans expertise in addressing womens. She left journalism in 1995 to write fiction full time and has published three bestsellers. Betty friedans the feminine mystique essay 1284 words. With a vision of the happy modern housewife as she is described by the.
Feminist theorist bell hooks took betty friedans book to task for its. The feminine mystique is a book by betty friedan that is widely credited with sparking the beginning of secondwave feminism in the united states. When the proposal for a book about the plight of the american housewife by a littleknown journalist named betty friedan began circulating at the publishing house w. The feminine mystique is a book written by betty friedan that is widely credited with sparking the beginning of secondwave feminism in the united states. Betty friedan 19212006, a transformational leader of the womens movement, founded the national organization for women now and authored many works, including the second stage, the fountain of age, and life so far. The mystique of betty friedan she helped to change not only the thinking but the lives of many american women, but recent books throw into question the intellectual and personal sources of her. Although there has been recent criticism of betty friedan s book the feminine mystique, there is no doubt, even in the minds of her harshest critics, that her book had such a profound impact on. The feminine mystique, a landmark book by feminist betty friedan published in 1963 that described the pervasive dissatisfaction among women in mainstream. The book that changed the consciousness of a countryand the world. It is urgent to understand how the very condition of being a housewife can create a sense of emptiness, nonexistence, nothingness in women. Video the feminine mystique watch makers women who make america online pbs video.
Her famous book, the feminine mystique, changed america. Friedan expected her classmates to describe theirs as similarly well. Betty friedan is perhaps most known for her book the feminine mystic published in 1963 whereby she. Betty friedan described the feminine mystique in her 1963 bestseller. What is friedans attitude toward what she calls the. The book that ignited secondwave feminism captured the frustration of a. In the feminine mystique, betty friedan, a freelance writer and 1942 smith graduate, intertwines anecdotes and observations from her own life with facts and analysis from her research, creating a.
Betty friedans the feminine mystique the feminine mystique is the title of a book written by the late betty friedan who also founded the national organization for women now to. The book identified the problem that has no name which feminists later labeled sexism. Its hard to see now, but the feminine mystique came out well before psychology was a hip way of examining social phenomena. February 4, 1921 february 4, 2006 was an american feminist writer and activist. The problem that betty friedan describes in her 1963 work, the feminine mystique, is the dissatisfaction of suburban housewives. Many women wanted the opportunity of a career of their own. Betty friedan is often called the mother of the modern womens liberation movement. The feminine mystique by betty friedan this persuasive argument against the cult of the 1950s housewife was an important motor for secondwave feminism hermione hoby. The feminine mystique, reassessed after 50 years the. Betty friedan, the godmother of the postwar us womens movement, was an. It also includes a summary of the feminine mystique and an overview of major topics and arguments. A leading figure in the womens movement in the united states, her 1963 book the feminine mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of american feminism in the 20th century.
She found that many of her former classmates had gotten married. Betty friedan, the feminist crusader and author whose searing first book, the feminine mystique, ignited the. The feminine mystique, a landmark book by feminist betty friedan published in 1963 that described the pervasive dissatisfaction among women in mainstream american society in the postworld war ii period. This lesson contains a brief biography of betty friedan, author of the feminine mystique. Horowitzs book revealed that friedan, then known as betty goldstein, had become involved with radical leftist activism during her years at smith college from 1938 to 1942. Betty friedan s impact on politics and culture duration. Women have difficulty describing or even admitting this feeling and thus friedan dubs it the. In 1963, betty friedan unleashed a storm of controversy with her bestselling book, the feminine mystique. In 1963 betty friedan wrote the feminine mystique, and exposed he happy homemaker myth. It says that the great mistake of western culture, through most of its history.