In 1963, Betty Friedan called it "the problem that has no name" and then proceeded to name it — and the name stuck. How does one read a book like The Feminine Mystique (1963) in 2021? https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Feminine-Mystique, Jewish Women's Archive - "The Feminine Mystique". “The feminine mystique says that the highest value and the only commitment for women is the fulfillment of their own femininity. Before reading, I first looked at this book as a "historical" perspective of the women's movement; how wrong I was. Assistant Professor of History, University of Central Oklahoma. 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. W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 17, 2001). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2019, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2016. "If you’ve never read it, read it now." Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2019. The Question and Answer section for The Feminine Mystique is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and … After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. It is the most famous of Betty Friedan’s works, and it made her a household name. Human-potential psychologists such as Abraham Maslow, popular during the late 1950s and early ’60s, influenced Friedan’s claim that the feminine mystique denied women their “basic human need to grow.” Because that basic need for development was stunted, Friedan maintained, women would remain unhappy, and children would grow up with unfulfilled and neurotic mothers. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. The Feminine Mystique was chosen in the 1960s, the decade that really began our decline, as the central pillar of the enormously destructive myth that a woman can “have it all”—both a fully-realized family in the home and a fully-realized career outside the home. Friedan was inspired to write her experiences after interviewing classmates from Smith College at their 15th anniversary reunion. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Marilyn French - Esquire [The Feminine Mystique] now feels both revolutionary and utterly contemporary Wonder Woman's sister Drusilla is sent from Paradise Island to Washington to tell Diana to come home. Unable to attain the feminine mystique, many women spent years with psychologists who tried to help them adjust to their “feminine role,” or they took tranquilizers or drank alcohol to ease their feelings of emptiness. Its arguments, broadly speaking, were less relevant, because twice as many women were in the workforce as had been during the 1950s. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! As she If my daughters don't have to read this book as required reading, I will make them read it! As important today as it was over 50 years ago, Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2017. In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. 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 … I regret to say that I did not heed the excellent advice in the book, and continued on as a housewife. Still other critics noted that she based some of her theories on studies that have since proved inaccurate. Further, prevailing attitudes held that “truly feminine” women had no desire for higher education, careers, or a political voice; rather, they found complete fulfillment in the domestic sphere. Please try again. In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. $16.49. : Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions: Third Edition, “[A] bridge between conservative and radical elements in feminism, an ardent advocate of harmony and human values.”. However, one fact is certain: The Feminine Mystique sparked a national debate about women's roles and in time was recognized as one of the central works of the modern women's movement. The book that changed the consciousness of a country—and the world.Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. 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. Her work propelled the stagnant women’s rights movement into its second wave and helped women reclaim some equality. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle … Information on the rise and fall of gender equality and sexuality. Friedan deemed that unhappiness and inability to live up to the feminine mystique the “problem that has no name.”. Please try again. As readable and relevant now as it was 50 years ago. There's a problem loading this menu right now. 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. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. The information is vitally relevant even today. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. Updates? Since its first publication, it has been reissued numerous times with additions—by Friedan and other feminist writers and scholars—that provide further context. Instant downloads of all 1423 LitChart PDFs (including The Feminine Mystique). 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. The Feminine Mystique - Chapter 1, The Problem That Has No Name Summary & Analysis Betty Friedan This Study Guide consists of approximately 102 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Feminine Mystique. She had been a leftist radical activist from the time she was at Smith College. Friedan began writing the work after she attended her fifteen-year colleg… ), This country has changed and I give my blessings to all the exceptionally smart young women out there who are making contributions to society, at the same time as being wives and moms. The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan (1963) "A Study of the Feminine Mystique", Evelyn Reed (1964) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Position Paper: Women in the Movement (1964) "Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII", Mary Eastwood and Pauli Murray (1965) Some women, in their forties and fifties, still I am in my 80s now. 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. 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. Her work propelled the stagnant women’s rights movement into its second wave and helped women reclaim some equality. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Feminine Mystique should be required reading for anyone who cares about women. Yes, this was a groundbreaking work at the time, but I honestly don't understand how anyone can be reading it -- and rating it -- seriously these days, except as a purely nostalgic, obscenely outdated work. She coined the term feminine mystique to describe the societal assumption that women could find fulfillment through housework, marriage, sexual passivity, and child rearing alone. The book took already familiar ideas, made them easily accessible, and gave them a forceful immediacy. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. It was, he concluded, a necessary fiction if both she and her feminist ideas were to be given a chance to take root. While many doors have opened, we are still not equal and do not have legal protections for us in place. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. When Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was first published in the United States in 1963, it exploded into American consciousness. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. While Friedan influenced generations of … 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. The number of women in college dropped from 47 percent in 1920 to 35 percent in 1958. A core document for the Second Wave of Feminism. This book is pure outdated drivel, something we should be thankful was released into the world at the time, but should now be placed in a museum and looked upon wistfully, as a curious relic of an exciting yet still misguided period in feminine history. "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan, published in 1963, is often seen as the beginning of the women’s liberation movement. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, $13.91 Shipping & Import Fees Deposit to Hungary. I read it because two of our daughters are Women's Studies majors and I figured eventually they'll be reading this book as well, and it can give us something to talk about. Now, thanks to God (and to Betty Friedan! This video analyzes Betty Friedan's 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2017. Author of. Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique-- published 50 years ago this week, on February 19, 1963 -- catalyzed the modern feminist movement, helped forever change Americans' attitudes about women's role in society, and catapulted its author into becoming an influential and controversial public figure.The book identified the "problem that has no name" -- which feminists later labeled "sexism." 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. It was a strange 7 stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century 8 in the United States. This 50th–anniversary edition features an afterword by best-selling author Anna Quindlen as well as a new introduction by Gail Collins. The Feminine Mystique was so talked about, and the title so catchy, in those days before we had words like sexism to describe what we faced, that many women eventually came to believe they’d read it, and used the phrase to describe whatever was bothering them about their situation as women. The Feminine Mystique, written by Betty Friedan and published in 1963, is one of the literary works that sparked the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. The Feminine Mystique is a book by Betty Friedan that is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. . The Feminine Mystique is a book by Betty Friedan that is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Less southern, and more specifically, Friedan sold 3 million copies of The Feminine Mystique within 3 years. For a historian of work and motherhood in the United States like me, there is scarcely a more influential text. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Unable to add item to List. The problem was "The Feminine Mystique," which was …
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