This is not to suggest that genetics do not matter.

Every rational human being has a brain that functions in the same way. It is sad to realize that such a banal and obvious statement as “women are human beings first” so perfectly exposes the ignorance of prejudice. Friedan’s theme in The Feminine Mystique attempts to enlighten thick-headed males and doubting women about the equality of human beings. I highly recommend that everyone read this book.īy writing–women are human beings first–, Betty Friedan speaks truth to power. How damaging was the illusion of the feminine mystique to women themselves, husbands, daughters, and sons? How does this affect us today? How was this related to profit? There was a lot of profit to be made at the expense of the wellbeing of women. How did women go from being over 50% of university educated people in the 1900’s through 1930’s to a human being who was supposed to be dedicated to others who gained her sense of self-worth and fulfillment from serving and giving up her own personhood? How did this effect the women themselves, and their family? How did it affect the age at which women married? In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, how did women, who while society was telling them that they should be happy, start breaking out of the mold of the feminine mystique.

This book describes the early 20th century turning of women from vital human beings, who were fulfilled by higher education and work, into a mystique that proved to be a mix of self-suppression and repression, which eventually was supported by society at large and by women themselves. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is a landmark book of its time, and it is still relevant for all women today.

While conservatives scorned Friedan’s ideas, they nonetheless struck a chord with millions of Americans and helped reignite the US feminist movement in the 1960s, leading to both legal and social change.A landmark book of its time and relevant now Friedan’s answer was to allow women equal opportunities to learn, work, and grow, so all people could enjoy better relationships. In reality, rigid gender roles left housewives frustrated and depressed and caused tensions both in their marriages and in how couples raised their children. After World War II, society fostered the idea that women wanted different things to men-namely, to run a home and live through the achievements of a husband and children. In 1963’s The Feminine Mystique, she identified “the problem that has no name” afflicting women pressured to devote themselves to domestic life. Born in 1921, Betty Friedan was an American psychology graduate, political activist, journalist, wife, and mother, who challenged the vision 1950s America had of itself as a nation of happy housewives in contented families.

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