Feminist history: Betty Friedan

[MichaelHerbert]

Betty Friedan's book "The Feminine Mystique (1963) was very influential in the emergence of the American women's equal rights movement. Here she is being interviewed in late 1960s

She was one of the women to read when I was a student (the 1980s). Our history lecturer was a massive feminist and used to spent more time discussing feminism with the class.

Betty Friedan was a real pioneer. I've got a lot of time for her. 'The Fountain of Age' was similarly enlightening and well researched. Well worth reading again.

Ann Oakley was another. I think she is still working.

I'd recommend her book. It's about American women who had more rights than their ancestors and were better educated, but still found themselves with very limited career choices, being expected to put the interests of husband and children before their own. There was a dissatisfaction, a kind of nameless yearning for something more.

She was panned as a liberal feminist by the radical arm of the second wave and dismissed by the third wave in many respects. The 50th anniversary of her book in 2013 was entirely unremarked upon. I am a feminist who started as a rather liberal (humanist) feminist in my younger days and I am now much more on the radical end. But as someone who had 3 kids under 5 at one point, Betty completely nailed it for me! I first read her as a 21 year old doing a PhD in political theory and thought she was interesting but if no relevance. 10 years on with all the kids (and the PhD), she became of huge personal significance. I also met women in real life and on forums who’d given up everything for their kids and felt this profound sense of hollowness and I would direct them to Betty!

I would recommend the novel The Group. Fascinatingly, it came out in 1963. I can’t find any evidence that the authors knew each other - but it has very similar themes.

But, yep, Betty exposes patriarchy. Admittedly only for a particular section of western societies but she completely hit on something.

Thanks for mentioning her

Speaking of "The Group", the movie is available on Amazon Prime in the US.

Barbara Bush said she identified with "The Feminine Mystique" in her memoirs.

I’m sure that the character of Betty Draper in Mad Men was written through the lens of The Feminine Mystique.