In this unauthorized biography, hennessee reveals how friedan s difficult early life contributed to her theories and how the book s success influenced much of the rest of her life. Betty friedan, the visionary feminist who launched a social revolution with her provocative 1963 book the feminine mystique, died saturday, her 85th birthday. In her obituary following the death of betty friedan this past saturday, ap national writer hillel italie summarized friedan s first and most influential book, the feminine mystique, in these terms. This is much more than just a collection of betty friedan s short writings over the years since she burst open women s minds with the feminine mystique 1963. Today it newly penetrates to the heart of isuues determining our lives and sounds a call to arms against the very real dangers of a newe feminine mystique in the economic and political turbulence of the 1990s.
When friedan s dad began to have serious heart trouble, he taught her mother how to run the business. Feminists of the 1960s and 1970s would later say the feminine mystique was the book that started it all. From her college days through to her mid30s, friedan was a consistent and committed marxist. Eisenhower the soldier who kept the nation at peace for the most of his two terms and ended up warning america about the militaryindustrial complex. Start studying us history chapter 30 betty friedan the feminine mystique. Feb 06, 2006 compiled by sarah goldstein february 7, 2006 3. 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 title of betty friedans book the feminine mystique. Betty friedans 1963 book the feminine mystique, from which this excerpt is taken, changed the lives of many american women by bringing their restlessness and unhappiness to public attention. Betty friedans the feminine mystique championed womens right to work in the early 1960s. I hope to provide people with a general overview of each book, the author and the social context in which the book was written. List of books and articles about betty friedan online.
Friedan spoke of the problem that lay buried, unspoken in the mind of the suburban housewife. Betty friedans 1963 book the feminine mystique a described. Betty friedans 1963 book that launched a revolution against the. Her assertion that a woman needed more than a husband and children was a radical break from the eisenhower. Betty friedans the feminine mystique championed womens. Project muse rethinking betty friedan and the feminine.
Notes from the feminine mystique 1963 by betty friedan this book ignited the contemporary womens movement in 1963 and as a result permanently transformed the social fabric of the united states and countries around the world and is widely regarded as one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century. Published in 1963, friedan s the feminine mystique was a bestselling analysis of the oppression of middleclass women that helped ignite the women s liberation movement. It is widely seen as one of the major contributors to the. A few years later, the historian daniel horowitz, who taught at smith, published a book revealing that friedans feminism had its origins not in her frustrations as a suburban housewife, which. 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. Few books have so profoundly changed so many lives as did friedan s 1963 best seller. The feminine mystique is a modernized version of the old formula for domestic enslavement more bluntly expressed as womans place is in the home. Betty friedans 1963 book that launched a revolution aginst the suburban cult of domesticity that reigned in the 1950s dwight d. This is the book that defined the problem that has no name, that launched the second wave of the feminist movement, and. Chapter 37 eisenhoiwer era identification and matching. Women are people too by betty friedan good housekeeping. Betty friedans 1963 book that launched a revolution against the suburban cult of domesticity that reigned the 50s dwight d. Yet as daniel horowitz persuasively demonstrates in this illuminating and provocative biography, the roots of friedans feminism run much. To preserve the past and inspire the future of her story.
Feminist is a biographical account of betty friedans life from editorialist for a labor newspaper in greenwich village ny and author of the 1963 groundbreaking book, the feminine. Aug 09, 2010 the feminine mystique, published in 1963, sent shock waves through american culture and led to friedan s being dubbed the mother of modern feminism. Published in 1963, the book was an immediate bestseller eventually selling more than 3 million copies and generated a firestorm of controversy. Betty friedans 1963 book that launched a revolution against the suburban cult of domesticity that reigned in the 1950s cuba latin american nation where a 1959 communist revolution ousted a u. Betty friedan wrote the book the feminine mystique which ignited the contemporary women s movement in 1963. Though most womens historians have argued that 1960s feminism emerged in response to the suburban captivity of white middleclass women during the 1950s, the material in friedans papers. Friedans sometimes awkward, occasionally inspired rhetoric would underpin womens lib, which in turn would morph into the ongoing feminist revolution in the writing of susan brownmiller.
February 4, 1921 february 4, 2006 was an american feminist writer and activist. Betty friedan, a sister peorian, provided a visionary grassroots movement to inspire women, once thought a damaged and weaker gender, to promote themselves and bring the issue of gender inequality to the forefront. Aps betty friedan obituary whitewashes her known communist roots. The feminine mystique discussed the idealized happy suburban housewife image that then was marketed to many women as their best if not their only option in life. With her book the feminine mystique 1963, betty friedan 19212006 broke new ground by exploring the idea of women finding personal fulfillment outside of their traditional roles. 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. Friedans assertion in her 1963 bestseller that having a husband and babies was not everything and that women should aspire to separate. A different look at betty friedans legacy lewrockwell.
Mar 01, 2010 the book that changed the consciousness of a countryand the world. In his awardwinning 1998 book, betty friedan and the making of the feminist mystique. Widely read and extremely influential, the book played an important role in the creation of the modern feminist movement. The new element is the poisoned bait of the mystique by which women today are voluntarily lured back into the trap that their grandmothers fought to escape from. Friedan died of congestive heart failure at her home in washington, d. Although there has been recent criticism of betty friedans 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.
May 30, 2016 friedans sometimes awkward, occasionally inspired rhetoric would underpin womens lib, which in turn would morph into the ongoing feminist revolution in the writing of susan brownmiller. The feminine mystique, published in 1963, sent shock waves through american culture and led to friedans being dubbed the mother of modern feminism. In her book, she describes a woman s life in the 1950 s as completely centred around being a mother and housewife. Bernard pushed back against friedan by asserting that it. Us history chapter 30 betty friedan the feminine mystique. Although it was the 1960s and times were achangin, the conventional standards to. Feb 06, 2006 betty friedan, the feminist crusader and author whose searing first book, the feminine mystique, ignited the contemporary women s movement in 1963 and as a result permanently transformed the. February 19 marks the 52nd anniversary of the day that betty friedans the feminine mystique hit bookstores. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. I am saddened by the passing of betty friedan, one of america s most notable. The feminine mystique betty friedan notes from the feminine. Friedan believed that she developed colitis, a swelling of the large intestine, because her mother was frustrated and had no use of her life, besides cooking and cleaning. Betty friedan and the making of the feminine mystique book.
Landmark, groundbreaking, classicthese adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and longlasting effects of betty friedans the feminine mystique. Betty friedan and the making of the feminine mystique. Jan 14, 2019 the feminine mystique by betty friedan, published in 1963, is often seen as the beginning of the womens liberation movement. Jan 21, 2019 in her groundbreaking 1963 book the feminine mystique, feminist leader betty friedan dared to write about the problem that has no name. Eisenhower soldier who kept the nation at peace for most of his 2 terms and ended up warning the us about the military industry complex. Ever since the 1963 publication of her landmark book, the feminine mystique, betty friedan has insisted that her commitment to womens rights grew out of her experiences as an alienated suburban housewife. Women who had been told that they had it allnice houses, lovely children, responsible husbandswere deadened by domesticity. It is the most famous of betty friedans works, and it made her a household name. The american left, the cold war, and modern feminism, professor daniel horowitz of smith college documented friedan s ideological roots. Betty friedans 1963 book, the feminine mystique, a. A study of the feminine mystique by evelyn reed 1964. Betty friedan, who ignited a movement with the feminine. Apr 10, 2010 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.
Jan 11, 20 this short book summary will be the first of three which collectively focus on a mix of contemporary and classic feminist texts. Betty friedan was one of the founders of the national organization for women. Her 1963 bestselling book, the feminine mystique, gave voice to millions of american womens frustrations with their limited gender roles and helped spark widespread. Feminist 1990 by justine blau, published by chelsea house publishers. A suburban housewife and sometime writer, she published the feminine mystique 1963, attacking the thenpopular notion that women could find fulfillment only as wives, childbearers, and homemakers. Journalist, activist, and cofounder of the national organization for women, betty friedan was one of the early leaders of the womens rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.