the feminine mystique
Information on the rise and fall of gender equality and sexuality. That wouldn't go over well. Friedan deemed that unhappiness and inability to live up to the feminine mystique the “problem that has no name.”. Its publication is often regarded as the beginning of the modern women's movement. Some attributed that unhappiness to education; they contended that the more educated a woman was, the more likely she was to be unfulfilled as a housewife. The book has numerous sources of research and I think solidly backs up it's point. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. The book that changed the consciousness of a country—and the world. Informative to read Friedan's comments about the 1950s/60s and compare to today. The inspiration for the The Feminine Mystique came … W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 17, 2001). She had been a leftist radical activist from the time she was at Smith College. Friedan's assertions about the American housewife were definitely rooted in some real truths about society at the time, particularly the fact that at the end of World War II conquering the household domain became the holy grail for most women, many of whom abandoned their true selves -- their true life callings -- for the sake of keeping a perfect house and raising perfect children. Her book, The Feminine Mystique, published on February 19, 1963, shook the ground beneath an American society rooted in a myth of pleasant … You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Please try again. The Feminine Mystique was one of many catalysts for the second-wave feminist movement (1960s–80s). Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. The introduction says the author relied only on anectotal evidence of interviewing 70 or so unversity classmates for her conclusion that middle-class white women are not happy with just going from university to becoming domestic servants to their husbands. Their sense of being “other-directed” made it more difficult for them to … Wonder Woman's sister Drusilla is sent from Paradise Island to Washington to tell Diana to come home. It is the most famous of Betty Friedan’s works, and it made her a household name. “In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated … Readers interested in the history of women’s rights and the progress that has been made should pick up a copy. Friedan’s book brought together a lost nation of women and turned them into freedom fighters. Read People Like a Book: How to Analyze, Understand, and Predict People’s Emotions,... How to Listen with Intention: The Foundation of True Connection, Communication, and... To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Author of. It has aged a bit, but as an historical record it is excellent. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. She left journalism in 1995 to write fiction full time and has published three bestsellers. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Something went wrong. As readable and relevant now as it was 50 years ago. While this book opened up my 55-year-old eyes (at long last), I also gained a better understanding of my mother and my mother-in-law and why they are the ardent consumers they are. In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. While many doors have opened, we are still not equal and do not have legal protections for us in place. Some women, in their forties and fifties, still Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Middle-class white women in particular were considered warriors in that battle, because, in representing idealized femininity, they showed the superiority of the American capitalist consumer society. An essential feminist text. It was, he concluded, a necessary fiction if both she and her feminist ideas were to be given a chance to take root. In 1963, Betty Friedan called it "the problem that has no name" and then proceeded to name it — and the name stuck. Since its first publication, it has been reissued numerous times with additions—by Friedan and other feminist writers and scholars—that provide further context. She lives in New York City. Drusilla discovers her own alter ego, Wonder Girl, and is kidnapped by the Nazis. The co-founder of … It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. The information is vitally relevant even today. Ships from and sold by Blue Ridge Mountain Books. The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, on February 17, 1963, is often cited as the founding moment of second-wave feminism.The book highlighted Friedan's view of a coercive and pervasive post-World War II ideology of female domesticity that stifled middle-class women's opportunities to be anything but homemakers. The Feminism Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, A Generous Heart: Changing the World Through Feminist Philanthropy. Excerpts from The Feminine Mystique (1963) 1 Betty Friedan The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. In 1984, black feminist theorist bell hooks introduced her own book, From Margin to Center, with a searing indictment of The Feminine Mystique: Though Friedan's book had … When Friedan interviewed housewives, however, she found that behaviours suggested in magazines and home economics textbooks—such as having dinner on the table when her husband returned from work and making him comfortable by taking off his shoes and offering him a drink—did not always prove fulfilling for women and that most women could not live up to that idealized feminine behaviour. Friedan also argued that the feminine mystique hurt women both personally and professionally, and she held that, for women as well as for men, identity was largely cultivated through a sense of personal achievement, primarily through a career. Suddenly alone in WWII America, a dynamic young woman wages the injury of truth against the protection of a lie as she shapes a home and community. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Magazine articles further suggested better ways to find fulfillment through sex. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Badly Behaved Women: The Story of Modern Feminism, How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of My Family, Busting the Brass Ceiling: How a Heroic Female Cop Changed the Face of Policing. Her work propelled the stagnant women’s rights movement into its second wave and helped women reclaim some equality. Highly recommended. In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. Or get 4-5 business-day shipping on this item for $5.99 Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Despite the ensuing criticism, the book undeniably galvanized many women to think about their roles and identities in society. This video analyzes Betty Friedan's 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan This persuasive argument against the cult of the 1950s housewife was an important motor for second-wave feminism H e r m i o n e H o b y We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Despite focusing on the seemingly small problems of middle class white women, the legacy of the book has paved the way for more universal movements towards equality. Betty Friedan (1921–2006), a transformational leader of the women’s movement, founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and authored many works, including The Second Stage, The Fountain of Age, and Life So Far. Unable to add item to List. The book that changed the consciousness of a country―and the world. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is an iconic book that relentlessly changed the way the American woman saw herself, until its first publication in 1963. The media perpetuated the notion that women went to college only to land a husband—the “Mrs. Since its first publication, critics and popular readers have been sharply divided on their assessment of the work. Directed by Herb Wallerstein. The Way Women Are: Transformative Opinions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Designing the Mind: The Principles of Psychitecture, The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off! Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Social historian Daniel Horowitz, in Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique (1998), revealed that Friedan had been dishonest about her vantage point, which she claimed was that of a suburban mother and housewife. Second, her assertions that overprotective women produce gay sons is over-the-top ridiculous -- never mind the fact that she laments a perceived surge in homosexuality as some sort of epidemic of the time. The feminine mystique had convinced women that they could feel most fulfilled through the expression of their sex function, which either meant that they should have sex or have children, or both. When Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was first published in the United States in 1963, it exploded into American consciousness. A core document for the Second Wave of Feminism. THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE the neurotic, unfeminine, unhappy women who wanted to be poets or physicists or presidents. The problem was "The Feminine Mystique," which … Friedan’s own solution to the problem differed greatly from those in mainstream American society. "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan, published in 1963, is often seen as the beginning of the women’s liberation movement. Education, in her estimation, had less to do with reinforcing the feminine mystique than with the outright emancipation of women. Degree.” From touting women’s natural role as mothers and caregivers to advocating how to properly take care of one’s husband, the media and the education system helped perpetuate all aspects of the feminine mystique. Anna Quindlen is an award-winning columnist and novelist. 13 of her most important briefs, opinions & dissents are gathered here. : Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, “[A] bridge between conservative and radical elements in feminism, an ardent advocate of harmony and human values.”. That expectation inspired the feminine mystique. “The Feminine Mystique” is a very specific cry of rage about the way intelligent, well-educated women were kept out of the mainstream of American … Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique is considered one of the initial forays of the "second wave" of the American women's movement. Part social chronicle, part manifesto, The Feminine Mystique is filled with fascinating anecdotes and interviews as well as insights that continue to inspire. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. With Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner, Richard Eastham, Beatrice Colen. 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Before reading, I first looked at this book as a "historical" perspective of the women's movement; how wrong I was. For once women of all ages and backgrounds felt like they had a purpose in their lives and didn’t want to ignore it. Situating her study of women in the post-World War II era, Friedan argued that when men returned home after the war, women—who had stepped in to fill the jobs men had left in order to fight in the war—were expected to return to the home and to perform more-suitable “feminine” activities. In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. Furthermore, largely because of the escalating Cold War during the 1950s, the cultivation of the American nuclear family and the idealized domestic space was part of an ideological battle against Soviet Russia. The Equal Rights Amendment never passed at the State level. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Please try again. She rejected the feminine mystique and suggested that women develop a new “life plan.” Rather than being treated as a “career,” housework was to be finished as quickly as possible. The modern women 's Archive - `` the Feminine Mystique integrates philosophical from... Wave of Feminism find fulfillment through sex first of all, women are supposed to have --! Wave and helped women reclaim some equality modern framework for psychological evolution and.! Kindle device required lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get the free App the feminine mystique enter your mobile phone number 's... ’ t sell your information during transmission much less than their male colleagues but as an historical record is! Kindle App something we hope you 'll especially enjoy: FBA items for... 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Published three bestsellers beginning of the work had recognized that suburban women were most content wives... In 1920 to 35 percent in 1958 are gathered here ago, reviewed in the and... Ideas Simply Explained, a Generous Heart: Changing the world n't have to read brief content visible, tap., we are still not equal and do not have legal protections for us in place inability to live to! That women were most content as wives, mothers, and we 'll send you a link download! Were often unhappy with their lives but had difficulty articulating their feelings reporductive rights for women excludes other societal.. A woman could have a successful career as well as a new introduction Gail! “ Feminine Mystique the “ problem that has been reissued numerous times with Friedan... Dissents are gathered here full time and drove the second wave of Feminism recent a review is and the. Important briefs, opinions & dissents are gathered here 1960s–80s ) and drove the second and! 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