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The Feminine Mystique

by Betty Friedan, Parker Posey (Narrator)

3.70 · rating details · 5,005 ratings · 424 reviews

Landmark, groundbreaking, classic?these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain...more

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Published November 15th 2009 by Brilliance Corporation (first published October 18th 1923)

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Oct 11, 2007

Jennie rated it

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i don't think i've ever seen the word "beatnikery" in print before.....

i think the reason to read this book is to gain an understanding of feminism in the mid-century Zietgiest. It gave me some things to think about, despite being hopelessly outdated and terribly repetitive. i was particularly intrigued by the idea that manufacturers would want to keep women bored and at home in order to sell them more consumer goods. As a full-time "career woman" (in Ms. F...more

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Apr 25, 2007

Jennifer rated it

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I read this book at a time when I had no clue what my next move would be. Newly married, on a leave of absence from law school, I fanatasized that my life would be so much easier if I could stay home and raise some babies while contributing to my family through domestic projects, like growing organic produce, composting, sewing our clothes, etc. Simultaneously, I found that my relationship with my partner was made more difficult. I was irritable when he came home from work, I lacked motivatio...more

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Feb 04, 2008

Beth rated it

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I used to describe this book as sandpaper on my eyeballs.

However, before you look at my one-star rating and write this review off entirely, I want it to be known that this book has great value. I recommend this book. It definitely, absolutely, got me to thinking about life, MY life, women, men among other things. I hold ANY book that makes you think in extreme reverence. So read this book. Love it, hate it, feel indifferent- but think.

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Aug 25, 2008

carolime rated it

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required reading for feminists, i've been told. for me, it was helpful to read this in light of my recent life changes-- i think that the past failures of society towards women should be a learning opportunity for me.

that said, it is important to note that the book was written in 1963 and the "women" it seeks to represent are mostly white, mid- to upper-class, living in prosperous cities and suburbs in the northeast. it isn't an exhaustive cataloguing of ills! i consider...morerequired reading for feminists, i've been told. for me, it was helpful to read this in light of my recent life changes-- i think that the past failures of society towards women should be a learning opportunity for me.

that said, it is important to note that the book was written in 1963 and the "women" it seeks to represent are mostly white, mid- to upper-class, living in prosperous cities and suburbs in the northeast. it isn't an exhaustive cataloguing of ills! i consider it merely an expository tool to unveil what was happening among this subset of women at that time. no one knew, or had any way of understanding the malaise of most housewives of this era. and now we do!

of course no one should take her statistics and advice word-for-word as an effective gameplan for modern women. i am interested though, what friedan might think about the ills plaguing more recent generations.

is the feminine mystique just as potent today? has it been altered somehow? an interesting element of the book is her use of the word "sex" where most modern writers would use the word "gender." the connotations of "sex" over "gender" do really suggest that women were imprisoned by their biology. society told them to revel in their inherent femaleness, which friedan argues is "oversexed." fast forward 40 years in the future-- people are still arguing that women are "oversexed", but in a different way! these days, teenage girls are eager to dress up, to attain their ultimate sexuality. however, today's "ultimate sexuality"; is it tougher and more free than 1960s social mores? or is it just as limiting? an example of the former is quentin tarantino's "deathproof" where the stuntgirls avenge their femininity. counter that to... the recent batman movie, the black night. a stunning dearth of interesting or even heroic female roles. the only woman in the movie dies halfway through, AND her most important role in the film was to pick which of the main males she would grace with her hand in marriage. this reeks of feminine mystique.(less)

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Sep 08, 2009

Lisa rated it

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Recommends it for: Housewives.

What struck me the most when I read this as a teenager (and this was the first of its genre I read) was how, in excruciatingly familiar detail, it described my mother. God rest her soul, I didn't appreciate it at the time and it didn't make me any less of a brat. Her life had been a life typical of many women that entered the workforce during WWII. Instead of marrying when the war ended, she stayed on and attained a position of prominence for a woman at that time. She married very late, at age 2...more

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Feb 14, 2009

Moxie rated it

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I picked up this book on a whim because its one of those books that we all know played an important part in the women's movement. But, having grown up a generation after the women's movement began, I always sort of felt like there wouldn't be a whole lot in there that I didn't already know or hadn't already heard. I have to say, though, I learned quite a bit.

It is a dense book with very long chapters and therefore is not a quick read. And although there is a little bit of repetiti...moreI picked up this book on a whim because its one of those books that we all know played an important part in the women's movement. But, having grown up a generation after the women's movement began, I always sort of felt like there wouldn't be a whole lot in there that I didn't already know or hadn't already heard. I have to say, though, I learned quite a bit.

It is a dense book with very long chapters and therefore is not a quick read. And although there is a little bit of repetitiveness, you can tell Friedan was really trying to drive home the point rather than simply filling the pages with the repetitiveness. All in all though, it is a very good reading experience. It was fascinating hearing her perceptions of the world she was living in all the while having the perspective of just how much things have changed since this book was written in 1963. And I learned a lot about the women’s movement that I hadn’t really appreciated before.

For example, I always had understood the fight for women’s equality to be about womens' right to choose their own destiny–whether that was being simply a wife and mother (the archetypal “housewife”) or a dedicated career woman or both. I thought that the fight against being “just housewives” was more a reaction to the fact that was, at the time, the only acceptable role for women. But reading this book, filled with her dedicated research, I realized she was making a deeper point than that. The point is that being “just a housewife”, if your intellectual capacity requires more, is never an acceptable choice, even if you think you are making that choice of your own free will.

Her theory is that failing to fully live up to your potential and letting your intellectual capacities slid does serious damage to your ability to grow and develop as a human adult. Her argument then concludes that this personal failure to fully develop has wide-ranging effects on your family, your children, and your society as a whole. Of course, men's intellectual development has not typically been arrested at early levels like women's development has.

The kind of ideal woman she describes is the kind who makes an effort to develop herself intellectually, to fully discover who she is, and is therefore a much happier and fulfilled wife and mother when she does take on the traditionally ‘feminine” roles in society. And I have to say, if my group of female friends are any indication, I think she’s right. The women I know fit that framework and are the happier for it, which would not have been possible (or at least not socially acceptable) even just a generation ago.

The bottom line: It’s worth the effort. Read it. Even those of us who have benefitted from her hard work and no longer face the uphill challenges she discusses in the book can gain a new perspective and appreciation of just how far women have come and how much farther we still need to go.(less)

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Jul 05, 2008

Elizabeth rated it

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Shelves: gender-studies

So Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is to feminism as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is to environmentalism: works that defined a movement and changed the world so profoundly that the worlds described within them seem alien to my modern eyes.

Some things, of course, haven’t changed: the feminine mystique (that is, societal pressure to be “feminine”) is alive and well: girls experience more pressure to be pretty than to be smart, there is no social stigma to claim your occupation a...more

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Mar 16, 2009

Billy rated it

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Shelves: 20th-century-1960s, comparative-women-and-gender

In the context of the 1960s, perhaps no work was more influential in influencing the woman’s movement and 2nd wave feminism than Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. This book, written by a self-proclaimed house maker, exposed the series of beliefs “that trapped Middle Class suburban women for whom extra income was not an economic necessity but a choice about identity and self-development.” (2) Post War, women were encouraged to be mothers and wives, not professionals. Yet at the same time, ...moreIn the context of the 1960s, perhaps no work was more influential in influencing the woman’s movement and 2nd wave feminism than Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. This book, written by a self-proclaimed house maker, exposed the series of beliefs “that trapped Middle Class suburban women for whom extra income was not an economic necessity but a choice about identity and self-development.” (2) Post War, women were encouraged to be mothers and wives, not professionals. Yet at the same time, more and more women were working outside the home. In short, before the war, women sought individuality and fulfillment, but after the war they were encouraged to find fulfillment in motherhood and domesticity. Friedan accused Freudianism (although not therapy per se) of rationalizing the belief that women were less human than men; in short, like penis envy, where women serve men or envy them. She blamed Anthropologist Margaret Mead for promoting the feminine mystique by “glorifying feminine women and emphasizing their sexual and biological responsibilities.” (3) Ironically, at a time when more women are going to college, so too are more women choosing early marriage. She blames this trend on “sex-directed educators” who focused on personal development in modern society, not education. Because of these forces, there was a divide between what women read and experienced. This divided caused confusion and self-doubt. (3) Media images promote and reinforce the domestic housewife as happy, but they are in fact not happy. Not being happy at home, women envied men. They now found “fulfillment only in sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love.” (3) The feminine mystique, therefore, “prevented women from realizing their full human potential.” The domestic sphere was their prison. Consumer culture promised more free-time for women; yet women were bored in their domestic prison. Chores took up all their time. Consumption, housework, and sex were inauthentic and unsatisfactory experiences. (3) Friedan concluded that women can only achieve fulfillment through personal growth. She offers “A New Life Plan for Women” which calls for a continuation of family and marriage, but also with a greater purpose that “shapes the future.” (4) This did not mean simply volunteer work; instead, this work must require Intelligence, Initiative, Leadership, Responsibility, genuine social contribution, and Financial Compensation. In short, Women must better themselves throughout their lives. To help in this development, colleges should make concessions to women who do not fit into the 18-22 YO mold of most students(less)

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Jan 19, 2009

Suzanne rated it

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I don't know if you can call yourself an American feminist if this book isn't on your bookshelf. It isn't so much THE penultimate feminist text as it is an explanation of the swoops of the pendulum between the first and second waves. We all know, of course, that the waves were very different, but now I have a better idea of how and why.

I'm also now curious to find out what else Friedan had to say in her lifetime, esp in regards to third (present?) wave feminists. After all, she died ...more

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Jan 08, 2009

JoLee rated it

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Shelves: 2009, bookclub, non-fiction

I really enjoyed Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique much more than I thought I would. Friedan's book has it's roots in the 1950s, which is incredibly obvious, and, thus, some of her arguments are very outdated. Friedan's books grew out of the 1950's idea that women would be most fulfilled if they embrace their femininity through meekness, submissiveness, and by living through their husbands and children. She terms this idea "the feminine mystique." One might also think of it as ...more

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Dec 27, 2011

Kate rated it

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Shelves: amer-culture, classics, nf

Wow. I don't think I ever realized WHY we had a need for "second-wave feminism" or how hard the pushback was against the idea of intellectual and professional equality for women in post-WWII America. I was aghast reading Friedan's statistics, stories, psychological investigations and more homely sociological research (the discussion of changes in magazine fiction was particularly startling). I wasn't too impressed by the weakness-of-American-Youth chapter (that idea being the one co...moreWow. I don't think I ever realized WHY we had a need for "second-wave feminism" or how hard the pushback was against the idea of intellectual and professional equality for women in post-WWII America. I was aghast reading Friedan's statistics, stories, psychological investigations and more homely sociological research (the discussion of changes in magazine fiction was particularly startling). I wasn't too impressed by the weakness-of-American-Youth chapter (that idea being the one constant in cultural critique) but I can see how we remain influenced by the "science" of a time not too long ago when it was accepted that women's highest calling was the home despite the stultifying nature of much childrearing/hometending work, and the blame that still attaches to all women (whether they stay home with children or work outside the home) as a result. (Friedan doesn't appear to have been immune from blaming women either, as evidenced by the attitude towards women "forcing" their husbands to do housework and the aforementioned w-of-A-Y chapter.) And I remember learning in 6th grade that the average age of marriage in the 50s/60s dropped to the teens but I was never old enough before to realize how disturbing that is!

I find myself applying what I learned in this book to all sorts of contexts, and applying Friedan's critical lens to much of modern culture as well. The introduction by Anna Quindlen in the edition I read talks about not realizing how TFM would be more than an interesting foray into a period piece, and I couldn't agree more. At the same time, it is certainly an interesting book to place the comments & experiences of my family as well - just how did it matter to have been born in 1913 versus 1936 versus 1955? How much did the high school/college experience change? How are my oldest cousins different from me because of how different my aunts' lives and expectations were? How will my children be different from theirs (especially because those 3rd cousins seem to marry so young compared to children of people my age, whose mothers were a bit behind the FM curve)?

I think everyone should read this. Freidan's firm belief that American women's abilities were being wasted and that this was the result of culture, not of purposely manipulative government, business, or male forces (though possibly the Catholic Church might have had a Plan) is an inspiration to make a difference.(less)

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Nov 08, 2011

Tina Davis rated it

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I expected to find The Feminine Mystique radical, possibly offensive to my moderately conservative mindset, but I found in it much to appreciate This may be because I live in a world shaped by Friedan and her generation, but I think it has more to do with the fact that her critique of 1950s middle class femininity, expectations, and social patterns was largely legitimate. She points out that the suburban family model, with a father/provider, wife/homemaker, three kids and a dog, is a model based...more

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Oct 28, 2011

Nina rated it

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Shelves: non-fiction-but-not-boring

This book was definitely crucial to the second wave of feminism.
However, I didn't like that Friedan portrayed Judaism as an anti-feminist religion. She blames Freud's slightly misogynistic views on his religion. In fact, Freud was not at all religious, and considered Judaism to be a cultural identity. He said that the history of the Jews helped him to identify with persecution.
Friedan also mentions that Orthodox Jews have very anti-woman ideas. This is totally true, and for a long t...more

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Sep 14, 2010

El rated it

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Shelves: cultural-studies-and-other, late20th-centurylit, permanent-collection, hear-me-roar

Ladies, the next time you decide you don't want to cook dinner that night, that you'd rather read a book instead... I want you to give a little fist-bump to the heavens in honor of Betty Friedan. It's because of her that you even have that opportunity to make that choice.

Let's clear something up right now - The Feminine Mystique is not a text on how to become a man-hating, radical, hairy-armpitted lesbian. If that's what you think this is about, my review isn't going to change your...more

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Sep 09, 2010

marc rated it

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Shelves: nonfiction

i really got a lot out of reading this.

the negatives: i think some of the supporting evidence cited was dodgy. the chapter devoted to sex is particularly suspect in its claims of more difficult childbirths etc by women who have no identities external to mother role and housewifery, and this chapter also contains arguments on homosexuality that are internally logically inconsistent with the rest of friedan's argument. friedan's arguments are also very concerned with a particular, domina...more

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Jan 04, 2010

Elizabeth rated it

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I'll be writing a fuller review for The Practical Feminist, of course.

Some parts of this book are showing their age. Friedan handily deconstructs the sexism of Freudian psychology but gives embarrassing credence to Freud's hypotheses of homosexuality--views that today seem as dated as the 1950s ad-speak she quotes.

But ohhh, that ad-speak. And ohhh, how she exposes the bland greed that keeps society and individuals from evolving as they might. It's easy to forget that sec...moreI'll be writing a fuller review for The Practical Feminist, of course.

Some parts of this book are showing their age. Friedan handily deconstructs the sexism of Freudian psychology but gives embarrassing credence to Freud's hypotheses of homosexuality--views that today seem as dated as the 1950s ad-speak she quotes.

But ohhh, that ad-speak. And ohhh, how she exposes the bland greed that keeps society and individuals from evolving as they might. It's easy to forget that second-wave feminism, in this initial salvo, was a seriously anticonsumerist movement. As Friedan points out, advertisers of the 1950s knew that, with women making the majority of household purchases, it would be profitable to keep women in a relatively docile, infantile state of vague unease. Can we say with any certainty that the American public has grown out of this state of adolescence? Now that the marketing world has co-opted the messages of feminism, contemporary women--who hear "You go, girl" messages selling everything from antibacterial spray to diet drinks to antidepressants--would do well to remember this anticonsumerism.

Friedan also makes an uncomfortable point, glossed over by subsequent feminists from Steinem to Faludi: women must accept the responsibility for their own disenfranchisement. Passivity is the easier role, and plenty of women willingly chose it--and continue to choose it. That's vital, and I don't know why it hasn't quite caught on. I have a guess or two. One is that the marketing messages haven't exactly let up since The Feminine Mystique was published, and it's still very easy to choose passivity. Another is that Gloria Steinem became the public face of feminism (as Camille Paglia would have it, this was because Steinem was sexier and more photogenic than Friedan), and Steinem's feminism was less nuanced, more focused on the woman-as-eternal-victim-of-historical-forces view. Now, the problem with the woman-as-eternal-victim school of feminism is the same as the consumerist problem: it puts the woman in a passive role. If anything, victimhood is even more pernicious than consumerism, because it posits an attractive, romantic passivity. The world in which a young woman is tragically oppressed and traumatized, surrounded by leering would-be rapists, is much more dramatic and appealing than the one in which she must speak up and tell her employer she deserves a raise. Friedan is clear-eyed enough to call the victim world a fantasy. Would that her followers had done the same.(less)

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Sep 14, 2011

Justin rated it

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At first I was worried that this book might try to cut my penis off. But it turned out to be quite rational and classy even if a little on the long-winded side. I think men and women today each come to this book with their own different sets of baggage. I still have a problem with a certain crowd of less rational women who love to yell "YOU GO GIRL!!!" and emphasize their resentment toward men. I developed a reactionary sensitivity to this sort of behavior which caused me to steer ...moreAt first I was worried that this book might try to cut my penis off. But it turned out to be quite rational and classy even if a little on the long-winded side. I think men and women today each come to this book with their own different sets of baggage. I still have a problem with a certain crowd of less rational women who love to yell "YOU GO GIRL!!!" and emphasize their resentment toward men. I developed a reactionary sensitivity to this sort of behavior which caused me to steer clear of overt feminism. I felt like I was being blamed for causing something that was just as much an affliction for men. That is the existential affliction. I felt a profound respect for Friedan when she spoke of her interviews with college girls and revealed that it wasn't just overt pressure from cavemen but their own anxiety about freedom and responsibility that led many women to choose marriage early. I realize that this was an easy out that men had created and when certain ewes strayed from the herd there were plenty of sheperds to hook them back into line. Still though, Men haven't been much happier at the factories and offices they felt they were forced to go to in order to be "providers." Friedan disarmingly acknowledges this in her epilogue and I found her struggle with embittered radical feminists fascinating and pitiable.

One thing that bothers me about Friedan's ideas though is her psychological characterization of the "dominant type" and "non-dominant type". She points out that men have reserved dominant behavior as their characteristic and that they have assigned non-dominance to women. True enough. I can also go along with her point that there are women who are "dominant" and men who are "non-dominant" and her book is pretty clearly about the problem that occurs when dominant type women are forced into non-dominant roles and how this should be remedied by allowing and encouraging women to pursue personal growth through "real" work outside the home. I have no problem with that. However she seems to forget about the non-dominant men and women. I guess this bothers me because I'm a non-dominant guy but I wish it didn't seem that as far as Friedan is concerned we can all just eat shit and die since we aren't making transatlantic flights and becoming secretary of state. I wonder if this might be part of what people are thinking when they say this book is flawed because it's pretty much about upper-middle class women.

I feel a huge weight off my shoulders after reading this. It lets me know that not all feminism is a blame game. Feminists need to do a better job of communicating that fact to men. I wish more women used Friedan's rational, diplomatic tone. I have a newfound respect for a lot of women and a much better understanding about my past relationships with them. The most important relationship I've ever had was with a young woman who became a doctor. She and her sister used to complain that they were "raised to be boys" and were very resentful about it. The fact is, and she probably appreciates it now, their parents did them a great favor. There's no way she would have become a doctor without that. I can see what a problem our society still has when girls who are expected to be rational and independent feel like freaks.(less)

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Jun 04, 2011

Mary rated it

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Shelves: classic, non-fiction

Somewhat dated and difficult to read -- I had to take it out of the library twice -- I read this mainly for its historical perspective but it made me think about my own life as a partial housewife (worked part time at a professional job) and about my husband's (somewhat frustrated) expectations for my providing him with services.

So I am glad I read it even though parts of it seemed 'too Freudian'. I was in high school when this was published and lived major changes to restrictions o...more

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Apr 25, 2007

Gloria rated it

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Shelves: womensstudies, socialissues, politics, educational

This is the book that first got me started in women's studies. There are flaws, as the book was written for upper- and middle-class white women. There is also a chapter that made me throw the book against a wall detailing how homosexuals are "sick" and etc. I highly recommend reading Gloria Steinem or bell hooks after this book to get a more rounded idea of social justice and feminism.

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Jun 30, 2011

Brandon T. rated it

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The Feminine Mystique was the seminal book of the women’s movement of the 1960’s. Journalist Betty Friedan exploded a myth that had seeped into post-war American culture: that a woman’s greatest potential could be found in the role of housewife and mother, and that the pursuit of any other goals would detract from this glorified position in society.

A housewife and mother herself, Friedan had begun to notice in the late 1950’s that many of the women she spoke to felt trapped and usele...moreThe Feminine Mystique was the seminal book of the women’s movement of the 1960’s. Journalist Betty Friedan exploded a myth that had seeped into post-war American culture: that a woman’s greatest potential could be found in the role of housewife and mother, and that the pursuit of any other goals would detract from this glorified position in society.

A housewife and mother herself, Friedan had begun to notice in the late 1950’s that many of the women she spoke to felt trapped and useless, though they couldn’t explain why. Many were middle-class, college-educated, with well-off husbands, healthy children, and beautiful homes in the growing suburbs. They had everything that they had been told they should want as women, most having voluntarily left college and career to start families. Yet they were, as Friedan noted, “desperate.”

The Feminine Mystique systematically deconstructs the image of the “happy housewife hero,” exploring its roots in pseudo-psychology, advertising, and the residual sexual segregationist attitudes that had pushed back against the suffrage movement that won women the vote in the United States in 1920. The mystique, she argues, encourages self-imposed cultural oppression.

Just underneath the veneer of the mystique, however, much darker trends were forming: increases in suicides, alcoholism, tranquilizer use, and other problems. Friedan argues in the book that these propensities were damaging not only to women, but to men and society as a whole.

At times, Friedan lets speculation carry her a little too far. She blames the mystique for the increasingly “overt manifestations” of homosexuality in men, positing that it causes women to engage in a “passive, childlike immaturity which is passed on from mothers to sons…” At one point, she even wonders whether the apparent rise in psychological disorders such as autism are a product of the mystique (though she is careful in this instance to point out that the experts suspected that earlier and better diagnosis was the most likely explanation).

Such speculation only shows that Friedan was, as she says of Sigmund Freud’s own mistaken explanations of Victorian women, “a prisoner of his culture.” Homosexuality was still listed in medical texts as a psychological disease, and autism was only beginning to be understood. On most matters, the book is perceptive and challenging – and did such an apt job of putting words to the inexpressible malaise so many women at the time were feeling that it helped spark a major social revolution.
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Apr 10, 2011

Mary rated it

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I had a demeaning encounter with Ms Friedan on the topic of celebrating 30 years of the Feminist Movement. As a Homemaker-Mom, she chastised me for aiming to put the women's movement back 30 years. Wasting my education, becoming overly invested in my children, she tried her best to shame me into compliance. Never one to comply ... I left her royal presence shaking my head. What an angry woman!

Years later, working with some new moms of a younger generation I mentioned the criticisms d...more

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Mar 18, 2011

Charlsie Dewey rated it

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This book was a fascinating read and especially interesting as America is facing a resurgence of blatant anti-woman legislation attacks. It was thought provoking and should be required reading for everyone. I also thought that her introduction was so sad, written in 1997 she is reflecting on the the 1996 election and it seemed like women were making great strides forward and that things were still very positive in this country. How did we get so off course since the 90's? Makes it seem clear tha...more

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Mar 29, 2010

Sara rated it

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Shelves: 2010, non-fiction, history, feminism, library-book

This was a bit of a tedious read; I found myself daydreaming through big chunks of the book. There were some important points made in this book, such as the importance of education on women, but the author seemed to go on and on about these points. I really felt that this book could have been half it's size.

Though this book is very important in regards to the second wave of the feminist movement, I struggled with some of the authors choice of words. Honestly, I felt the comparison be...more

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Feb 11, 2010

Dave rated it

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Shelves: read-in-2010

There were definitely times when I thought Friedan was belaboring her point too much. A little voice in my head whined, "Really? Another chapter? Haven't we got it yet?" At the same time, I think she was speaking to fairly thick-headed audiences that needed repetition and hundreds of case study letters and testimonials before they would wake up and start working for change. I can only be dismissive of Friedan's writing in hindsight--a hindsight colored by the revolutionary changes Frie...more

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Jun 04, 2010

Kendall rated it

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The Feminine Mystique is both a snapshot of history and presently relevant, because, as Anna Quindlin writes in the introduction to this edition, "so much has changed, and too little, too, so that rereading the book now feels both revolutionary and utterly contemporary." Friedan makes incredibly astute observations about not only the inequality women subject themselves to by choosing "Occupation: housewife", but also the ways in which women attempted to find identity/status/h...more

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Jun 10, 2009

Rachelterry rated it

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Shelves: history

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book. She’s talking about the first wave of feminism from the 19th century: “There were excesses, of course, as in any revolution, but the excesses of the feminists were in themselves a demonstration of the revolution’s necessity.” It made me think of the wild swings in China’s recent history. Anyway, she was looking back about 50 years, and now we can look back at Friedan’s book from 50 years and see the effects of possible excesses. I found this book ...moreThis is one of my favorite quotes from the book. She’s talking about the first wave of feminism from the 19th century: “There were excesses, of course, as in any revolution, but the excesses of the feminists were in themselves a demonstration of the revolution’s necessity.” It made me think of the wild swings in China’s recent history. Anyway, she was looking back about 50 years, and now we can look back at Friedan’s book from 50 years and see the effects of possible excesses. I found this book terribly interesting at times and tedious at others, but it really made me think. So I’ve been taking notes on my perception of pros and cons.

Pros of the second wave of the feminist movement:
Education: The education of girls and women has improved dramatically as a result of the second wave of the feminist movement. By the time I was graduating from college in the mid-1990s, the thought of dropping out because I was getting married never even crossed my mind. When Friedan wrote the book in the 60s, however, dropping out to get married was a very common practice. Of course, more men also go to college now than fifty years ago because the marketplace is more competitive and industrial jobs have declined as a result of global trade.
Political clout: The first wave of the feminist movement took a long time because women had no political clout. It’s hard to get property rights when you can’t even vote. Today, women are visible in all levels of government. Women have made great strides in the political arena in the past fifty years, but there’s still work to do. For example, the two respectable women who took part in presidential campaigns last year were frequently dubbed “floozy” and “hag” by the media. But sixty years ago there were no women running for president or vice-president.

Cons:
Either/Or Mentality: It seems that there’s a common conception that homemakers are “wasting” their talents or don’t have much to offer society, and I thought this book would have a heavy slant in that direction. There are several chapters about how women would be much happier if they had a lifelong pursuit outside the home and family, but Friedan doesn’t suggest that this has to be a job. She talks about women who pursue interests while they’re at home with their families and suggests that these women are more content. Still, there’s a militancy about this issue that sidelines women who want to make home and family their sole focus: a woman can be home and bored or she can be away from home and stimulated. There’s not much in between.

Abhorrence of housework: Friedan repeatedly says that housework is the absolute lowest work done in a community. The result of this attitude is that everyone thinks housework is beneath them, and people live in unwelcoming houses and eat frozen dinners. It might be a stretch, but I think the obesity epidemic is linked to the fact that cooking qualifies as housework, which is beneath the dignities of many Americans. Everyone has more important things to do.

Unresolved issue: Women as mega-consumers
I couldn’t believe how much Friedan’s description of 1950s and 1960s consumerism sounds like today. When she talked about women buying things to fill emptiness in their lives and marketers honing in on this weakness, I felt like things have definitely not improved in this area. In fact, when I hear ads on the radio for plastic surgery (“I thought my wife looked fine before, but now I can’t believe how young she looks!”), I think it’s gotten worse.

All in all, I think this book is worth the read (if you skim parts with too many case studies and too many statistics. It's an interesting snapshot of a time and place.

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Jan 17, 2010

Bethany rated it

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Shelves: non-fiction, book-club

This book presented an interesting view of women's lives in the '50s. While Freidan was understandably outraged by some aspects of society's treatment of women, I do think she got rather carried away in parts, most especially the several pages devoted to comparing the situation of the '50s housewife with inmates in Nazi concentration camps.

I think most women today would find at least the first part of this book thought provoking, both for the historical context it provides for the w...more

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Jan 24, 2010

Robin rated it

· review of another edition

On Lists of Bests I found this was on a list calling it one of the most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries. WTF? I can only imagine the hubbub when this book came out, telling women they didn't have to listen to society, advertisers, or their own families to be women with the "feminine mystique", but could be well-educated, work outside the home, and their husbands and kids would be OK - and they would too.

Strange that the suggestion she makes at the end, to giv...more

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Feb 21, 2011

Tiji rated it

· review of another edition

Right after finishing this book, I ended up visiting my parents and helping my mom clean carpets with this new super expensive carpet cleaner that my dad bought my mom (ha). So, I found myself reflecting on this book and one particular issue-- Frieden damns Freud for being a product of his time, yet Some of her arguments seem rooted in the homophobia of her era. For example, she blames overbearing housewives for creating homosexual sons (although she doesn't really touch on lesbianism, so I gue...more

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Jul 27, 2011

Melissa. rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 1950s-and-1960s, history, women-s-issues

i recommend this for any woman out there, and men too. it is full of enlightening anecdotes, interesting information, innovative and bright ideas...

yes it is about feminism, but really, it's about equality. there is only one section that crosses the line, and there are a few brief ideas that tiptoe near it. but overall, the book covers and envelops a necessary subject for society, one that is basically as relevant today as it was when it was originally published-- sixty years ago... further ...more

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About Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan was an American feminist, activist and writer, best known for starting what is commonly known as the "Second Wave" of feminism through the writing of her book The Feminine Mystique.

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Books by Betty Friedan

The Second Stage: With a New Introduction

It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women's Movement

Beyond Gender: The New Politics of Work and Family

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“Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question-- 'Is this all?” — 98 people liked it

“What Friedan gave to the world was, "the problem that has no name." She not only named it but dissected it. The advances of science, the development of labor-saving appliances, the development of the suburbs: all had come together to offer women in the 1950s a life their mothers had scarcely dreamed of, free from rampant disease, onerous drudgery, noxious city streets. But the green lawns and big corner lots were isolating, the housework seemed to expand to fill the time available, and polio and smallpox were replaced by depression and alcoholism. All that was covered up in a kitchen conspiracy of denial...
[i]nstead the problem was with the mystique of waxed floors and perfectly applied lipstick.” — 5 people liked it

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